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Mikaela Ruth

Happy Birthday, Baby Jack

January 17, 2019

One year ago today, this little boy completed our family, stealing each of our hearts with his sweet newness, his tiny toes, soft kissable skin, and then with his endless, gap tooth smiles. We call him Happy Jack, our sweet Jack Bennett.

At one year old he may be our biggest eater and busiest child, taking his first steps at 10.5 months and basically running at 12 months, eating more than his big brother and sister if given the chance.

The last year, with adding a third to our home, has been a bit wild and totally exhausting. But (a quick but!) it goes without saying that we’d do it all over again. With Jack, preferably not with a fourth, ha! We’ve had more trips to the doctor than ever before, had our first experience in the PICU with Jack at Seattle Children’s, I learned of and totally related to the term “post natal depletion” and I reached a new lowered expectation for the cleanliness of our home ;) The love and laughter in our home has grown, though, right along with the noise level. It’s been bittersweet experiencing all of Jack’s firsts and baby innocence and sweetness knowing he is our last. It’s been fun seeing him look up to Zaya and Ava and learn to play with them and see how much they adore their baby brother. Ever since day one, they just can’t get enough of him. None of us can :)

The fact that Jack has never even made it to this blog shows how crazy life has been. Looking back over the past year in photos certainly tugged at my heart. I’m choosing to look forward now, at all the adventures both big and small, that our family can do together as our little ones grow up. We’re leaving the baby stage – though you bet I’ll still be calling Jack my baby even when he has a baby of his own one day – but it’s not all sad. I love seeing the little people our babies are becoming and hearing their thoughts and watching them grow. It’s such a gift. Sleep is also a gift and I’m looking forward to more of that too, hehe.

Through it all God continues to show us his goodness and mercy, and we keep leaning on his wisdom and grace.

I thought I’d narrow down my favorite 20 photos of Jack’s first year, but who was I kidding…

Not quite two hours old, after a quick and hard labor just shy of four hours!

My friend Jen of Blush Sky Photography paid us a sweet visit and took these newborn family photos of us…

When he finally started to come around, after a rough few days with RSV. We started at the hospital in Bellingham, and then were helicoptered to Seattle Children’s. We left with a new appreciation for health, home and for those who work at the hospital.

We got to introduce Jack to Hawaii last summer, travelling there with friends. One of them happens to be the super talented Dan of Hatch Photography, who took these three photos. So many favorites from that shoot…we should always travel with a fellow photographer ;)

Isaiah just keeps growing into his big brother role, with a fierce love for his siblings

We love you, baby Jack! xoxo

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  • More snow today and I’m just over here holding my breath it isn’t going to hinder our date night! 💃🏻 You know, that quarterly event (or so) where we get to slip out of the house, feeling free of responsibility, and then spend dinner chatting about our children and looking at cute photos of them on our phones 😜 
How often do you leave the house for a date night? What’s normal these days? 🍽
  • That feeling when you get your inbox down to zero! *or slip into the dress and marry the man of your dreams* But seriously, cleaning out that inbox was the highlight of my day. That and getting the floor mopped and receiving all kinds of sweet, wet kisses from my littlest 🙃
  • Loved you yesterday
Love you still
Always have
Always will ♥️
  • There’s just something about a snow day (or two!) ❄️
  • The winds couldn’t keep the snow away this time, and we are pretty happy that it finally came to our little corner of the pnw. Post-sledding hot cocoa + puzzles were necessary ☺️ Now we await the next storm 🌬
  • In light of #fridayintroductions, here are a few random facts you may not know about me...
👩🏻
I share my birthday with a certain groundhog and most often, the Super Bowl
😏
I used to lift weights and watch carbs, now I lift kids and eat it all, and I’m pretty good with that. 🍕
I’m a homebody who loves to travel. Most recently added high to my list of places to visit is Israel.
✈️
I think dinner leftovers are gold.
🍽
I don’t wear a ton of makeup, but it still feels weird to me to go a day without any.
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I believe time is more valuable than money, and faith and family are everything. ♥️ I’m so excited to be spending my birthday weekend digging deeper into God’s Word, learning more about my Creator, at a conference with @kay.arthur. And then cheering for anyone but the Patriots.
😆
  • It could have been the idyllic ferry ride to Orcas Island, or the winding drive once we arrived, making you feel like you were on summer holiday. 
It could have been the venue, Rosario Resort, set on the water, and the scent of the sea, or the sweeping views from atop Mt Constitution. 
It could have been the palpable love between bride and groom, their joy, and how they invited everyone around them to feel it, too.

Okay, it was probably all of these things and more! Because like I said in my last post, there was something about this wedding. See more by checking out the link in profile ✨
  • There was just something about this wedding ✨ Sharing one of my favorite weddings from last year on the blog this morning. Head on over to the link in my profile to see more! 🖤
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Copyright 2019 Mikaela Ruth