conception day {part one}

yesterday was isaac's two-year conceptionday. most people celebrate birthdays... it's a widely accepted festivity. but how often do we celebrate the day a child is conceived. of course, that day is not always known with certainty like it was for us. so i guess that would be a setup for a difficult go at making them like what birthdays have become.

but while it may never catch on universally, i will still continue to celebrate this day in our lives. it means more to me than isaac's birthday. anyone who has been reading here a while will know why. but anyone who has not might easily guess that the day isaac was conceived is so special and important, because we never saw it coming... and we never thought it would happen.

yes, isaac's birthday is a wonderful day to celebrate and love on him. but it doesn't reach down and get me at the core of my being the way the anniversary of this day {and thinking about it} can. first of all, any conception for anyone is a miracle in my opinion... and amazing event in creation. but more than that, it holds such mysterious, deep emotion for me... part indescribable gratitude and part indescribable joy.

not that there wasn't the chance that something could go wrong during my pregnancy, but once we found out we were pregnant, it was almost inevitable that the baby would be born at some point. and of course, the excitement of meeting him and his arrival are part of what make his birth day special. but when you have tried to get pregnant with no success and had given up on the idea, the day it does happen becomes so much more amazing {in retrospect} than the day of birth... at least from a hopes and dreams standpoint. the day of birth is the fulfillment of that first day of life in the womb. so i find myself much more awed and stilled and emotional and grateful when september 26th comes around than i do on june 15th. it's a quiet and inward celebration... no parties of fifty people. no cake. just me and my boy {and hubby later on} and a whole lot of kisses and hugging.

anyway, it's very strange how it coincidentally worked out with isaac's first and second conceptionday... both years, i happened to be taking a trip into chicago to see a friend. last year, it was with two photography blog friends to meet up with a third photography blog friend. this year, it was to meet up with a friend i've known and cherished for years... who is now pregnant with her fourth! such a special way to spend this specific day.

i could write so much more about all that, but i will save that for part two... tomorrow perhaps?

today, i just wanted to put to "pen" and "paper" my thoughts and photos of our sweet train ride to the city. isaac has been on the train once before, but it was last april when he was a lot less aware of what was going on. isaac LOVES to say "choo-choo", as we live near the train station and constantly hear the train sounds. he also has his own little wooden toy train that he enjoys pushing around the living room floor almost daily.

i captured an excited clap in the last shot... which brings up a point. he really was enjoying himself! he's not his usual smiley self, so you wouldn't know it to look at these photos. but it was pure fun to watch him on the train yesterday... mesmerized by everything whizzing past outside and all the people inside.
 

after a long day with my friend and her kids and no nap, he was tired as can be, subsequently leading to a nap on my lap during the train ride home.

it was then that i reflected most on what the day {and date} meant to me.

the only other thing that could {and did} make the day sweeter was to find a sweet post on stacey's blog. it meant so much that i should read it on that day... that she should post it on that day. especially, because she also posted about our time together in the city exactly one year prior, too... on isaac's first first conceptionday. {you really should look at both posts... even if just to see how much isaac changed in just the span of one year!} i don't think it was intentional on her part, either year, to do so... just pure coincidence. but knowing that makes her posts even more special to me.

all said, it was a really nice day. not perfect {isaac fell and busted up his lip *sniffle*... along with some other difficult aspects}. but it was still a lovely day. and one i'll not soon forget.