Catching Up… Karis Joy’s Birthday
Liam starts preschool today!! It’s at an Early Learning Center for typical kids and kids with special needs so I am thrilled for him to have this opportunity! He is really ready for it as I just can’t seem to teach him enough at home. They do a different activity every 15 mins. which will be SO good for him. He will be there for 3 hours 2 days/week which means I get some down time and some one on one time with my little girl! It’s a win win for everyone. 😉
Jeremy is watching Karis for me this morning so I get some much needed ME time and catching up on some blogging. Hopefully this means you will hear more from me this summer! One of the blogs I’ve been meaning to post is about Karis’ FIRST birthday and since she is 15 months old now I think it’s about time! So here are some pictures and a little bit about her party. Love my big little girl!
I love an excuse to get creative and decorate cakes, so I really enjoyed doing this cupcake for my little cupcake!
I made her a tutu to wear at her party and at first she wasn’t too sure about it but then she just decided to ignore it, which I’m glad because it looks SO adorable on her cute body!
Can’t get enough of her pretty smile!!
She LOVED her balloons! I took her to Publix to get the cupcake balloon the day before her party and she freaked out pointing at it and saying “OOOO” as loud as possible. It was pretty funny! Now everytime she sees a balloon it’s kind of a big deal. 😉
Opening gifts while her buddy Truitt looks on. Karis was the only little girl at her party! Most of her friends are Liam’s friends too.
The Spread!
The finished product!
Before she destroys her cupcake!
She wasn’t too sure at first but when she got a good taste of it… she ate some and the rest she just played in. It was nice change from Liam dry heaving on his first cake. 🙂
Liam enjoying his ice cream but a little overwhelmed at all the people at his house once he got up from his nap.
Karis enjoying her new swing and slide castle from Grandma and Grandpa!
On Karis’ birthday weekend the church also had a dedication ceremony for children and families. They made it a very special time and talked about each child and shared the life verse the parents picked out as a prayer over their child. It was neat time to be a part of the body of Christ as we choose to raise our children in the ways of the Lord. I’m so thankful for this church family and their commitment to help my family know the Lord more.
So the truth about this moment… Karis and Liam were tired because their naps were cut short. Karis was the loudest kid there! She wasn’t crying she just liked hearing her loud voice. I put her paci in her mouth and she got louder… how does that happen!!?
Now Booking Cinderella Parties!!
Do you want to make your little girl’s dreams come true by bringing Cinderella into your home to help celebrate your princess’s birthday!? If you have a daughter between the ages of 3 and 7 who has a special day coming up, consider bringing Cinderella to her party! I have been doing parties for almost 10 years, and I’m starting to book parties again after having 2 babies and now fitting back into my dress.;) The party fun includes face painting, story time, a craft, a game, singing, and dancing… this can all be tailored to fit your child’s hopes and dreams for her party depending on her age and stage. I come for an hour and the cost is a mere $125… and the memories you make and the sparkles in your daughter’s eyes when she sees Cinderella are priceless! To book now please email me at PrincessParty10@gmail.com. I look forward to making your princess’s dreams come true! 😉
12 Months of Karis Joy!!
One year ago yesterday I gave birth to my precious little baby girl! I can hardly believe she is already ONE! If I had to describe Karis in five words they would be… beautiful, joyful, dramatic, content yet determined! She is all over the place and on the verge of walking. She is pushing the laundry basket and a little push toy all over the house now in effort to keep up with her brother! She loves to play chase with mommy. Most days she is a pretty good little eater and her favorite food right now is pasta with spaghetti sauce… I’m not even sure she takes time to chew it! She is really into books right now and will sit and read them over and over even by herself. She is quite the expressive little girl and can say bye-bye, hi, (both of those sound like ba-ba and ha almost like she has a little southern accent) uh-oh (her favorite word), da-da, a-dun (for all done) boo for moo like a cow, and of course she can growl like a tiger like her brother. Her sign language has really picked up and she has learned a lot from Liam. She can sign dad/mom, eat, drink, more, all done, please, bath, ball, milk, help, shoes, strong, music, toothbrush, elephant, sleep, book, hat, dog, baby, moon, horse and flower. I’m very thankful that she is pretty content to play with toys by herself, but when there is something she wants she certainly lets me know! I am discipling her already for several reasons one being that she does not like laying down to get her diaper changed and she kicks and fusses. When I discipline her she acts like that was the worst moment of her life (which for her it probably is), so I’m constantly praying for patience! I know when Karis gets tired because she either becomes cranky or very slap happy… love those slap happy moments! Here is an example of one of those moments – <a href=”“>. She has the greatest belly laugh and I can’t get enough of it! As far as sleep, she gets about 11 hours at night and 2 during the day, so not completely ideal but it seems to be enough for her. She still gets up and cries for a few minutes every other night or so, but usually goes back to sleep unless she’s teething and then it’s usually at least an hour!! Regardless of her night sleep she seems to wake up happy about life. Whenever I pick her up from the nursery at church they always say how good Karis is and how content she is to just play! We are getting her dedicated at our church on Sunday and have chosen this verse for her:
“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17
Thank you Lord for the unexpected and completely precious gift in Karis Joy!!
Enjoy these pictures of Karis from this past year of her life!
The night before she was born!
1 day old
1 month old
2 months old
3 months old
4 months old
5 months old
6 months old
7 months old
8 months old
9 months old
10 months old
11 months old
12 months old
A Year Ago Today…
…I gave birth to my first born, Liam Jeremiah Thiessen! He was born at 12:18pm and weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. When the nurse cleaned him off and handed him to me I had no idea what kind of prize I was just given. At that moment we had no idea he had Down syndrome. We were just admiring our perfect little baby boy! I just knew he was perfect for me. God’s chosen one to be my baby boy! He is entrusting me with Liam’s care and for that I am forever grateful to our creator for choosing me to be his momma!
Five hours later a pediatrician from our chosen clinic came with our labor and delivery nurse to give us an update on how Liam was doing. He sat beside me and told us that Liam was showing some characteristics of Down syndrome. Those characteristics included slanted eyes, extra skin on the back of his neck, one line through his left hand, and low muscle tone. He said he wasn’t a 100 percent sure but that a blood test would tell us if he had an extra 21st chromosome or not. A couple things went through my mind… I was in denial… “this couldn’t happen to me”… while at the same time thinking “he does have DS – this is what God chose me for.” It was a strange feeling. I believe God had prepared my heart for this news but it was still extremely hard to hear, mostly because I had no idea what that really meant. I had no idea the blessing I was given!
The pediatrician left the room and the nurse stayed behind and asked if she could pray with us!! What a gift she was to me that day! Not only did she do a fantastic job taking care of me throughout the birthing process but she wanted to pray over us after receiving this news. God sent her to us in that moment! Anyway, we did go through the process of grieving a loss of what we had expected. But it didn’t last very long as we got to know and love Liam for who he is! I believe God’s grace was poured out on us as we learned to love our little boy with DS. I think we are the lucky ones to have the chance to raise this precious boy. He is truly a gift and I can’t imagine him any different. He is so loving and happy and easy going. He is definitely much more of an observer than a mover. He’s pretty content to just sit and play with whatever is in front of him (which has come in handy lately;). He loves music and books and anything that makes noise when you bang on it;). Each stage of growth this past year has been my favorite… so I look forward to many more years as his momma!
God looks at Liam and sees him as his beautiful creation and so do I! We have chosen this life verse for him – Psalm 139:14 “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Or another translation I like is, “How you made me is amazing and wonderful!” God has already used him to touch lives… including my own… and taken us places and challenged us in ways we never dreamed of. I pray he continues to use his little life to touch others and point them to Jesus!
Happy FIRST Birthday Liam! I love you and am so blessed to call you mine!
First time I got to hold my baby!
My big one year old boy!
Life with Jerin 