July 10

Some people think about the day their kids were born just on their birthdays. I am one of those people who thinks about it A LOT. It's engrained in my memory. The day our son was born changed our lives in so many ways. It took every ounce of muscle, energy, heart and soul to birth my son. I laid in bed for 14 hours with an epidural gone bad and the knowledge that my unborn son was very sick. I watched as the nurses whisked him away without having the chance to look at or hold him. I listened to my doctor talk about my excessive bleeding and how to stop it while I thought of my husband down the hall, trying to find out more information about our son while things weren't going well in my room and he didn't even know it. I can recall with every detail the moment I finally got to hold my first born, when he was nearly a day old - with machines hooked to him and wires between us. I remember his heart rate instantly slowed and regulated when I held him - which is exactly what was supposed to happen. Despite all that we'd endured, he knew who I was. And there was no denying who he was - and what he would always be to me. He grasped my finger through the little splint holding in his IV and held on tight. I hoped he would never let go.

Six years later, I sit in awe and stare at him sleep - looking exactly the way he did the first time I held him and looked down at his face. He's grown of course, but he'll always be my baby. He's challenged me to the core - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. And every day, I realize just how much more wonderful my life is because of July 10.

Happy Birthday, sweetie. We love you more than you could ever know.

To see his awesome birthday cake made by our friend, Christi, click here. (Thank you, Christi - it looked and tasted wonderful. You'll be missed!!)