Ben is One!

Birthday boy!

Tired baby! 

Ben had his birthday party on Saturday. We all had a great time. It was a little difficult getting everything set up with three kids underfoot. Abby and Klara were pretty well behaved for the first 20 or so minutes we were setting up, but then they started running around in circles. Ben was just exhausted. He had about an hour long nap in the car on the way to the restaurant. We had the party at Basils Greek Dining. Then didn't nap again at all the rest of the day, except for a 20 min car nap on the way home. So, he was very overtired! But, all in all, it was a great party! We were happy that so many of our friends were able to attend. We were also saddened that a couple of friends could not attend. Two were because of illness, and one was due to a scheduling conflict. We very much appreciated the fact that, if people were sick, they stayed home. Most of the time, people would be annoyed by a last minute cancellation. In this case, we were very happy that people care enough about our little guy to reschedule with us. We knew there would be a ton of people there, so the risk of infection was higher than we are normally used to. So, anything we could do to minimize that risk was great! It's so crazy. I mean, with the girls parties, we didn't really care if people had minor colds or sore throats. Well, except for Klara's party. My dad had just started chemo, so we didn't want anyone who was obviously sick. But, we also didn't turn anyone away really. But, now, we have to be so hyper aware of anyone who is sick. Even just a minor cold is a major illness for Ben. I never thought we would be worrying about these things at his 1 year old birthday party. But, that is exactly what we do.

Cute hat! 

Ben actually turned 1 yesterday, on 11/12/12. We didn't do much for the day. We had to do a little shopping. Ben was at first, asleep sitting up in the cart. Then he chose to lay down and chew on his biter biscuit. He was exhausted from the long weekend. We had his party Saturday and spend the weekend at his nana's house visiting his grandma, grandpa and cousins. So, Monday, we kept it relaxing so he could catch up on some much needed sleep. And so could I! We went to Trader Joe's for some groceries and spent the rest of the day at home. Today, he has still been pretty tired. He was yelling at me when we went to meijer. He perked up when I put this hat on him. I think he really likes it. I may have to go back and get it :) Tomorrow, Ben will be coming with us, and the girls will be staying with my sister. We are going to the Mended Little Hearts meeting, where Bill Coon, author of Swim: A Memoir of Survival, will be speaking. Coon was one of the first four infant heart transplant recipients in the Midwest. He then went on to have a second heart transplant, as well as a kidney transplant at the age of 21. It is amazing and makes me so hopeful that his first donor heart lasted so long. And he was one of the first! So, the technology was still really in it's infancy! I can't wait to hear him speak! I am hoping to have him sign Ben's birthday book as well. I am really excited to be going, and will update about it either tomorrow or Thursday!