My first Mother's Day

Mother's Day. The one day a year when husbands and children find themselves under immense pressure to get just the right card and gift to show Mom how much she's loved. =)

I told B I wanted no big gift--no jewelry, no big ticket items. I was just excited to be a mom. He was sitting up with me while I fed Caleb at midnight, and as soon as the clock ticked the hour, he went and got my present. I told him he could wait til morning, but he said, "Well, technically it is morning!" I know how excited I get when I have a gift I think he'll like, so I gladly opened his gift to me. It was a beautiful "mom" frame, engraved with "Happy first Mother's Day, Love Brandon and Caleb." LOVE it. Great job, B!

As if my first Mother's Day wasn't exciting enough, our Caleb was dedicated at church at the beginning of the service. I went to dress him in his sweet little Easter outfit, and his neck has gotten too fat for the outfit to button! Yipes! So I put him in my brother's little outfit, which was also too tight in the neck. But the next dressy outfit we had, one of Brandon's, was TOO big everywhere else. Ugh, this baby is as hard to fit into clothes as I am. But he was so handsome! He wore a little hat and B and I were so excited to stand before the congregation and dedicate him to the Lord. It was so special to look out and see our friends and family, those folks who mean the most to us and who showed us how important we are to them, promise to help us raise him in a Christian home and set a Godly example for him to follow. For me, I was honored that so many of my brothers and sisters in choir stood for us, too. We turned around and saw them standing and smiling at us! Then, the pastor had everyone stand, because he said that every person in church would play some sort of role in the babies' upbringing. What a beautiful way to start our day! Brandon, who is just hitting the point where he will talk about his faith, and I were so touched by those who made our sweet baby's dedication a priority in their morning. He is surely surrounded by many wonderful people who love him very much!

Standing up front

Pastor Will told the congregation that Caleb was "on a mission," since he had been in such a hurry to arrive. When he said Bean had been 7 weeks early, you could hear a gasp pass through the crowd. Caleb was the smallest and youngest baby dedicated on Sunday.

B and I promising to set a Godly example and to do our best to lead Caleb down a good path steeped in Christian values

I love my choir brothers and sisters. My family is so blessed to have their support!

Everyone's up, now

Of course, when we got home, we had a photo shoot. =)

Our first self-portrait with the little guy

Mr. Caleb, in his Sunday best, next to the beautiful frame he and Daddy gave me (with a pic of him already in it) and holding the Bible that Grandma and Grandpa Stocks gave him in honor of his dedication.

Caleb and his first Bible. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for already helping me down the right path!

Caleb was already immersing himself in the Word, hahaha

After church, we went to Ruby Tuesday for a nice meal, just the three of us. I got a red velvet cake from the restaurant in honor of being a mom. (Good choice! It's my favorite!) I'd done Mother's Day with my mom on Saturday, so we had to head over to B's mom's place for a visit to her. Aunt Heather was there, so Bean got lots of love...too bad he wouldn't wake up for pictures!

Bean, B, B's mom, and Gramma

I had also made gifts for the grandparents at the pottery place using Caleb's hand and feet. I thought these would make sweet gifts for the first Mother's Day where Caleb was here!

For my mom

For B's mom

For Gramma

So, overall it was a great day. I celebrated my first Mother's Day. I dedicated my son in church. I shared lunch with my family. It was wonderful. How strange to hear people wishing me a Happy Mother's Day! I still haven't gotten used to being referred to as a mom.

...but I think I like the sound of it!