James' Birthday Scrapbook

I mentioned in my post yesterday {scroll down for all the b-day pictures!} that I was hard at work last month making scrapbook pages for James' baby book...one layout for each month of his first year. Want to take a peek? {Click on each photo to view it full-size.}

{pregnancy}

{one month old}

{two months old}

{three months old}

{four months old}

{five months old}

{six months old}

{seven months old}

{eight months old}

{nine months old}

{ten months old}

{eleven months old}

{twelve months old}

"First Year" journaling reads:

Dear James,

You are now one year old. What an amazing milestone for you, little buddy. I am proud of all of us that we have made it through the last 12 months...or more appropriately, the last 12 months + 34 weeks. The dream to grow our family has had a lot of ups and downs over the last five years. We had your sister Madeline, miscarried twice, lost your brother Nicholas and had a very high-risk pregnancy with you. Too many doctor visits to count. Numerous ultrasounds. The doctors gave us little hope to hang on to. Every week they speculated at a new catastrophe brewing inside your little body growing in my womb. But your daddy and I had hope and faith in God that He would bring new life to our family, to make it complete...a little life that would be strong and whole and unblemished. You had to arrive in this world earlier than we'd have liked. our first few months were spent in the NICU, battling for your life and the health of your fragile body. I knew deep in my heart, even when you were still inside my womb, that you were a fighter! I'd chant to you, "You prove 'em wrong, buddy!" Daddy and I and countless others have been by your side, cheering you on every step of the way. No doubt it's been a bumpy ride this past year, but we never wavered from our goal--to watch you fight and overcome the odds. You have been blessed by the prayers of hundreds, if not thousands of people, to bring you to this point. You are a trooper. You are my hero. You are my cherished son.

Love, Mama