Two different fertility specialists told us that we would probably never have children.  When I discovered that I was pregnant with Andrew, our first child, we were seeing the doctor who was the head of the fertility clinic at Loyola University in Chicago.  She referred to Andrew as our "miracle baby."

[caption id="attachment_1206" align="aligncenter" width="509"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Andrewnewborn2.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1206" title="Andrewnewborn2" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Andrewnewborn2.jpg" alt="" width="509" height="585" /></a> Andrew was born at Delnor Community Hospital in St. Charles,<br />Illinois[/caption]

Andrew was the first "Leboyer" baby ever born at Delnor.  As soon as he was born, the doctor handed him to his daddy and Gregg held our precious baby in a warm "Leboyer" bath, to sooth him at his entrance into a new world.  And Andrew looked around.

The doctor commented that he'd never seen a baby, who cried only once, and then appeared to examine the delivery room intently.  That was our first clue that Andrew would be a very visual learner.

[caption id="attachment_1127" align="aligncenter" width="580"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andrew6mofingers.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-1127" title="Andrew6mofingers" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andrew6mofingers-717x1024.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="828" /></a> Andrew at 6 months old - love those big, observant eyes![/caption]

I knew I wanted to breastfeed our babies. I did not know how much I would enjoy breastfeeding.  And Andrew latched on quickly and nursed slowly.  He would nurse a little, then look around the room.  Then nurse a little more and look around again.

He is still a visual person!

Before Andrew was  born, I was SUCH a sound sleeper!  I worried that I would never wake up when he cried at night.  The first night we were home from the hospital, I heard every time he turned over. And every car that pulled out of our apartment complex.  And all the people who talked on the sidewalk outside beside the apartment.

At one point, I turned to Gregg and asked if we needed to call the police. Surely something was wrong! He laughed and assured me that cars and people came and went every night. But, before, I had always slept through the noise.

[caption id="attachment_1166" align="aligncenter" width="554"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andrewnewfromhospital.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1166" title="Andrewnewfromhospital" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Andrewnewfromhospital.jpg" alt="" width="554" height="584" /></a> The day we brought Andrew home from the hospital.[/caption]

The other personality trait we learned early on was that Andrew is a very active person.  He loved to move as a baby.  And he is a do-it-now, get-it-done person as an adult.

[caption id="attachment_975" align="aligncenter" width="357"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Andrewsoccer2.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-975" title="Andrewsoccer2" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Andrewsoccer2.jpg" alt="" width="357" height="435" /></a> Andrew played soccer from 6 years old through high school.[/caption]

Things I still love about our first-born son. . . 1) He is such a happy, eager to please, eager to smile person. He gives everything he does 110 percent of his energy and enthusiasm.

[caption id="attachment_42" align="aligncenter" width="500"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrew-1-year-old.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-42" title="Andrew" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Andrew-1-year-old.jpg" alt="Andrew" width="500" height="619" /></a> Andrew when he was a year old[/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_733" align="aligncenter" width="424"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Andrew110.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-733 " title="Andrew110" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Andrew110.jpg" alt="" width="424" height="603" /></a> Not hard to see that gung-ho, give-it-everything-I've-got personality trait, is it?[/caption]

Another thing I love about Andrew. . .2) He is such a spiritually sensitive person.  Before his stroke in 2006 - at age 26 - he worked with inner-city gang kids in Los Angeles, with the mission organization <a href="http://ywamla.org/home/YWAM_Los_Angeles" target="_blank">YWAM-LA.</a>  He was not afraid to spend time in Watts and Gardenia - some of the worst areas of that big city - talking with and ministering to young people who needed Jesus.

Even as a child, he was eager to know more about Jesus. He was only six years old when he asked Jesus into his heart.

And 3) Andrew is such a good big brother. He takes his responsibility toward his younger siblings, very seriously.

[caption id="attachment_1120" align="aligncenter" width="560"]<a href="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BenJonAndrewatMothers.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1120 " title="BenJonAndrewatMothers" src="http://motherhoodstress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BenJonAndrewatMothers.jpg" alt="" width="560" height="400" /></a> Benjamin and Jonathan with Andrew - always a good big brother.[/caption]

On August 15, Andrew celebrated

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