They Say It's Your Birthday...

Charles' birthday started out right, with a friend over to visit first thing in the morning (Ethan's dad plays ball with Tony on Tuesday and Friday mornings). The boys had fun, whilst I got to understand, if only for an hour, just how crazy life would be with twins:

Also this morning, Charles has had his first bit of birthday cupcake at the photography studio; those photos are bound to be amazing. When Charles was finally allowed to dive into the cupcake after it had served its purpose as a photography prop, he was delighted to find that it tasted good, contrary to most things he shoves two-fisted into his mouth (see: everything else he can get his grubby hands on). He first grabbed the "1" candle and dipped it in the frosting repeatedly. I took it away when he started gnawing on the wax ("gee, if the coating tastes so good, what does the middle taste like?") and that's when he burst into tears. Kid can throw a tantrum. The photographer was clicking the whole time, so I can't wait to see those pictures.

We have already had a big day, and the grandparents aren't even here yet! My folks roll into town tonight, and Tony's will get here tomorrow. This evening we plan on dinner and then a trip to the local ice cream parlor for Charles' first cone. Chocolate or vanilla, I wonder? I kinda think he would prefer a berry of some sort, so we'll see. Tomorrow is the official party with cake galore and friends all over the place. Photos to follow, of course. On Wednesday, we'll have the doctor visit, complete with weigh-in and immunizations. Wheee!

It's hard to believe it has been a year (allow me to be cliche for a bit). I was telling my friend DeAnna (Ethan's mom) that Charles' turning one feels like I am truly leaving my pregnancy behind. After all, up until 9:46 tonight, I will be able to say "one year ago, when I was X months pregnant..." But no more. In fact, at this time (3:10) last year, I was probably at the bank, having been resoundingly sent home by my coworkers for having swollen feet and a very flushed face. I stopped by the bank to deposit a check and heard horror stories about labor and delivery from two friends who worked there. I had probably been having contractions all day, but I only felt a few, about an hour or more apart, and they didn't hurt much - they just felt like menstrual cramps which, pleasedonthateme, I don't really get very often. It wasn't until I went home and put up my feet for awhile that I had noticeable contractions, and then those didn't even hurt until about 8 pm. Well, you know the rest of the story, my water broke at 8:45, we went to the hospital, they couldn't find a vein for an IV even, I was complete and yelling at the nurses that I had to push, I pushed for less than ten minutes, and out popped our adorable son.

I suppose every parent loves watching their child's personality develop. It is especially apparent that Charles is outgoing and has a happy temperament when he is around other children. He's not introspective and he is LOUD. He wants to move and be a part of things. He is not inquisitive in a passive way - while many of his baby/toddler friends study things, Charles wants to grab things and see what they do. I have no doubt that he will make himself the center of attention his whole life, and Tony and I will have our work cut out for us keeping up with him.

Happy birthday, Charles! Here's to many, many, many more...