Birthday

One year ago today after four hours of labor, I was sitting in a hospital bed holding my precious little boy. It was a cold January day in West Virginia and Andrew and I experienced the joy of being parents for the first time. Dear friends came to the hospital to share in our excitement as we stared in awe at our wrinkly cone-headed boy. Our little family grew and our lives were forever changed.

I never knew that a year could fly by so quickly. A year in which we watched our tiny child develop into an exuberant little boy who lights up the room. This past year we learned a lot about ourselves and how to keep a baby alive. In the beginning we were overwhelmed. Completely overwhelmed. I felt like I nursed 28 hours a day and never slept. We didn't know what to do with the wiggly little guy who cried, peed every time we took off his diaper and never wanted to sleep. Eventually though, we started getting the hang of it. Ben grew and grew and grew. He started to smile, laugh, roll over, crawl, stand, babble, clap his hands, and sleep. Every day of this past year has brought us a new part of Ben to love. We've enjoyed so many firsts, holidays, vacations, swimming, family visits, the list is endless.

Today, his first birthday, is exciting. It means that we made it a year. We figured it out. We survived and our little nine pound bundle (who now weights close to 24 pounds!) has thrived!