From Infancy to Childhood: Baby Jairus Celebrates His First Birthday in Style!

 
The stories about Baby JAIRUS are extraordinarily impressive. Just as i always claim, this boy inherited his mother’s wisdom and hard working. We won’t deeply wind back into the night, i mean the evening when Winnie delivered Jairus. All i know and wanna tell you is that it was not an easy time, not at all, except that Winnie is such a strong woman and God was graciously with her, with us. As i narrated some time back, i fully participated in Winnie’s pregnancy from day 1 to the last hour and, every struggle of hers is imprinted on my mind just as it is on hers. Anyway, she later delivered a baby boy at around 4pm and it was Friday at Mulago National Referral Hospital (Kawempe).


We named him Jairus Gabriel Nshimiye. Nshimiye is a Kinyarwanda (Rufumbira) word meaning ‘to be grateful or thankful’. We are grateful to God for our first baby and for all good things He has done for us. Jairus is a Hebrew word or name that means ‘Jehovah enlightens’. We believe it is only God who enlightens our paths, both spiritual and physical, helping us to make good decisions and guiding us to life of abundance. We believe God is the only one who shall guide Baby Jairus’ wisdom and knowledge and help him live for God’s glory, full of light and enlightenment. We again called him Gabriel simply because it is a Hebrew name that means ‘God is my strength or He is my Judge or My Hero’. We are saying that it is only God who provides strength and defense to Jairus throughout all his life.


Jairus has grown up into a wise and astonishing boy. From his physical beauty that reflects mom’s beauty and light to his inner spirit that radiates happiness, gratefulness, resilience, and all things good just as mom and the dad. Yeah, i personally believe that i am resilient, grateful and wise in God’s grace. Winnie is an extraordinary woman who has a heart of a wise and strong woman and whose beauty is incomparable. Jairus picks a lot from his mom and it is a gracious thing for me.

Jairus has had some hard times of sickness, falls, and moments of lack (or shortage) and through it all, he (with God’s gracious hand) has managed to hit his one year record, successfully transferring from being an infant to now being a child. Isn’t that awesome? He has so far mastered a lot of skills; concentration (when reading and writing), listening to country music or watching a play without tampering with the screen, dancing, singing, socializing well with other children, saying bye, calling mom, imitating words (not clearly) and actions, singing ABC song and so much more. He loves bathing though he has less interest in eating. He, however, loves drinking water.

For more about these skills, see what i had earlier posted about Jairus on Facebook
SO EXACTLY, HOW DID THE BIRTHDAY GO?

We counted it so special and, unlike our usual birthday parties which we usually hold at home, we held Jairus’ at Mulago Hospital Guest House Restaurant. We invited friends and families; more than 25 friends came. We also had fellow children, about 8. It was a great party. Jairus’ cake was extraordinary; 3 layers with drawings, Mike mouse and great colors. We had all sorts of food; pilawo, chicken, chips, meet and so much more. Among the guests, we had the famous Uganda gospel rapper Lyrical Mycheal who gave the baby a gift of a guitar. It was a Saturday afternoon and it didn’t rain. We had great music; all sorts of baby Happy birthday songs and favorite cartoons. We didn’t have professional camera man; we decided to make it more easy and simple and so we used our home camera, smart phones and tablets.

Apparently, Jairus didn’t sleep throughout. He participated with us. Danced, ate, didn’t cry, and cut the cake himself. He received gracious gifts, including serious baby digital smartphones, a toolkit for doctors and nurses, sheets, clothes from Uganda and India, baby’s swimming pool, money, towels, dolls, balls, trousers, baby albums and all sorts of clothes and, yeah, a lot of love. It was a marvelous Saturday evening at Mulago Hospital Guest House Restaurant. We left at around 9;30 and we were home by 10pm. Jairus showered and slept nicely. The next day, he woke up at 10 am just as the mom just as the dad.

NB: Jairus has the best care taker in the world. She is called Shamim. This girl was the second person to own the party. Everyone was asking us; how do you do it? How come your baby’s caretaker is the best? How did you make her a child at home? Tell us the secret; You see i have dodged using the word ‘maid’ for we never use it at home. Shamim is simply our other child. She lives happily with us. She goes out with us, dresses well like us, eats well like us, and works out home duties with us. We love her and have cared for her and she has reflected all that care when taking care of Jairus. Jairus and Shamim are one! They love each other and have connected beyond our imaginations. When we leave Jairus with Shamim, it is like we have left him with a mom only she cannot breastfeed him. Besides, we have enough time for our baby and so he is never a burden. When we reach home, we bathe the baby, carry the babe and do everything and this removes pressure from Shamim who actually always wants to be with the baby. There is no way to explain what is happening at my home; it is God’s goodness only.

For more about Jairus’ moments in all of his one year’s journey, borrow these short posts i would make on facebook occasionally:

1. Jairus in Kisoro
2. Jairus steady growth
3. Jairus, and Kibaba’s family celebrating Winnie’s birthday
4. On the day of Jairus birthday
5. Jairus enjoying taxi ride with us
6. WHEN JAIRUS WAS BORN
7. Our Christmas 2018 with him
8. More in Kisoro and His reception in Church
9. Jairus was sick someday
10. He is now happy and healthy

FOR MORE, ENJOY THE PHOTOS