Happy 1st Birthday Sean! WE LOVE YOU!

Sean turns 1 year tomorrow morning.  On this night, 1 year ago, I wasn't yet a Mommy.  I laid in a hospital bed trying to stop contractions and to keep our sweet baby boy inside the safety of the womb as long as possible.  As long as possible meant the next morning (June 29th, 2011 @ 9:19AM). 

Our baby Sean Riley was born 14 weeks early weighing only 2 lbs. 4oz.  13.5 inches long.  When Sean was born both Mommy & Daddy were filled with joy!  We were now parents of a baby boy! 

2.5 months later we would be able to take our baby boy home from the NICU weighing 7 lbs.  Having a newborn was most definitely hard work, but worth every moment.  Our lives changed instantly.  We were no longer single individuals free to come and go as we please.  Our needs would become secondary to Sean's needs.  Life was now about providing for Sean and meeting his needs. 

And that's what we've been doing for the past year.  Taking care of and meeting the needs of our precious baby boy.  A couple of our friends who are parents have said, "It's amazing how much one can love someone so littte."  It is amazing!  We love Sean so much!  And we are so glad we didn't miss out on being parents. 

Sean has brought so much joy into our lives.  We have enjoyed watching Sean grow day after day.  At 1 year old, he now weighs 20 lbs!  He is healthy and doing well.  We are hopeful for Sean's future and pray that he continues to do well. 

It has been fun to watch Sean develop.  Sean is so much fun to watch.  He loves to play!  He's starting to crawl.  It's amazing how far he has come developmentally.  We are enjoying each moment.  We have been warned by some well meaning friends that when a baby starts to crawl "it's all over".  I guess we are in for a pleasant surprise. 

On Sean's 1st birthday, we wanted to share a little about Sean:

• Sean loves the outdoors and being taken on walks. 
• He loves playing with Daddy. 
• Sean is a good eater.  Favorite foods so far are sweet potatoes and pears.
• Sean loves being held and sang to. 
• Sean loves taking baths and playing with bath toys.
• He lets people hold him without a fuss
• He loves going to new places and seeing new faces
• Sean also enjoys being read too. 
• He loves music especially Classical.
• Sean loves watching ELMO.
• Sean loves all his family
• He loves to play on his tummy and loves to roll and roll and roll.
• Sean likes sleeping on his side and sometimes his tummy.
• And one of the things he loves most of all is his blankie! 

Happy 1st Birthday Sean!  WE LOVE YOU!

Sean's Mommy & Daddy

Sean is crawling!

Sean is now officially crawling on his own.  Last night, he was on tummy time and up on his hands and knees a lot....then suddenly he began to move one hand in front of the other and each knee followed.  Daddy & Mommy were both with Sean to celebrate and witness this HUGE milestone together. 

Sean is also starting to sit up without any support or help, but not for very long.  At this point it's about 15 seconds before he begins to tip to his side.

Today, we went to the NICU Reunion near the hospital where Sean was born.  It was good to see some of the NICU staff.  We also ran into Sean's little preemie friend named "June".  June was born on the same day as Sean, on June 29, 2011.  June was born even earlier and smaller than Sean.  Sean was a "26 weeker" and June was a "24 weeker".  Thankfully, today after their long journey beginning in the NICU almost one ago....both June & Sean are healthy and happy babies. 

Sean's Mommy & Daddy

First Father's Day

We had a nice First Father's Day weekend.  On Saturday, we had a nice visit from our friends Sherri, Danny and baby girl Summer.  Sean enjoyed their visit.  He especially enjoyed playing with sweet Summer. 

On Sunday, we all headed to Merced to visit Daddy's Dad (Sean's Grandpa Sam). 
We had a BBQ lunch with Grandpa Sam, Grandma Paula, Uncle Stan, Aunt Linda and Cousin Stephanie.  Sean enjoyed his time with the family especially with his Grandpa.  He also enjoyed playing and being held by his Cousin Stephanie. 

We weighed Sean that evening.  He's now at 20 lbs!  Getting bigger every day! 

Sean's Mommy & Daddy

" I love my Da-da"

If Sean could speak, he would say, "I love my Da-da".  When Da-da walks through the door after a hard day at work, Sean smiles from ear to ear.  If he could speak...he would say, "Hi Da-da, please play with me!"  Da-da is so good at playing with his baby boy.  Sean loves it!   He laughs so much!  

Sean loves being held up in the air by Da-da.  He loves it when Da-da tickles his stomach. 

This is going to be Da-da's first Father's Day.  We are looking forward to it!

Happy Da-da's Day Steve! 
We love you!
Sean & Mommy

He did it!

Tonight Sean held his bottle of water all by himself for several minutes.  What a big boy!

Sean is all about playing...playing...playing.... He loves being on tummy time.  He can easily spend over an hour playing on his tummy every day. 

We weighed Sean last week.  He weighed 19.5 lbs.  This is average weight for an 8 month old (Sean's corrected age).  He's doing great!

Sean's Mommy & Daddy

"Mommy! Look what I can do!"

Sean loves playing with his toes, especially his BIG toe!   Not only did he discover that he could play with his toes, but he can suck on his BIG toe!   :)

Sean is now able to place his pacifier in his own mouth.  And he can hold his bottle without any assistance from Mommy & Daddy, but prefers that we still help him most of the time.  Sean is not yet sitting up by himself or crawling, but will soon. 

We had a great Sunday afternoon in the park with Mommy's Highschool girlfriends.  Sean let all the girls hold him without a fuss or cry.  He loves being loved and held.

Sean enjoyed playing with Ciana (Alisa's 5 year old daughter).  Ciana was so super sweet playing with Sean.  Ciana said, "He likes me."  When our stay at the park ended, Ciana gave Sean a kiss on his forehead.  Sean is looking foward to seeing and playing with Ciana again soon. 

We love our baby boy!
Sean's Mommy & Daddy