Charlie's 1st birthday

There were a couple frightening moments when I thought we wouldn't get to this day. But here we are, one year after January 17, 2008, and we are celebrating Charlie's first birthday. There is something significant about getting a year "past" something, especially something traumatic. Charlie's birth was not an evening of celebration; rather, I felt some relief, quite a bit of sadness, and a lot of worry. In fact, when looking for a picture taken on his day of birth, I decided I couldn't post it. I couldn't even stand to see them. He had the CPAP up his nose and frankly looked like a wax figure. Instead, I chose one of my favorites from the day after he was born - the first time I was allowed to hold him.

Charlie: 3 lbs, 8 oz. 30 weeks' gestation.

Charlie: 22 lbs, 3 oz, 12 months old!

Today was a quiet day. Our birthday party was a bust due to weather; neither set of grandparents, nor my brother & family, could make it because of the snow. We have rescheduled for tomorrow but it's not looking promising. I did bake cupcakes (well, Ro did almost all, including mixing!) and couldn't resist temptation - had to eat one tonight. Charlie will wait for his until tomorrow, when hopefully he can have an audience.

I was successful in one thing, though - got a shot of him showing his two upper teeth! He actually has a third cutting through on the top, honestly it's like they're all going to come in one after the other.