Bittersweet

Today is a bittersweet day in our house... Elias turns ONE YEAR OLD today. We are all dealing with the fact that he is technically no longer a "baby" (according the books, on paper, etc...). Despite the labels he is SO the baby around here. The attention and forgiveness ("Oh, that's okay Elias. You're just a baby and it's actually funny that you just wrecked my lego creation/art project/took my food...") he receives in this house from me, his Daddy, big sister and big brother will either make him into a very secure and confident adult OR a classic "baby of the family" type (you know, what I mean!).
For obvious reasons, I am remembering the day/night he was born and thinking back on it with such positive emotions. It was a very beautiful and intimate night... Mike and I working as a team to bring this new baby of ours into the world. Mike was fully present that night in body, mind and spirit. He was my rock and my shoulder to cry on. He was steel wrapped in velvet. And he supported my beautifully during my labor and the quick and intense delivery that followed. He and my midwife, Julie, were calming presences and allowed the atmosphere in the room that night to be however I wanted it to be... calm, minimal disruption and no-cause for alarm (after all, birth is not a medical event, just an extension of our body's normalcy).
Elias was born after 1 1/2 hours of laboring and came quickly, within minutes. He immediately found his spot in our family and took his position in my arms (I feel like I have been holding babies for six years straight, oh, wait, I have!).

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Boy... you are so loved.