First Birthday

When it comes to families, there are good things and bad things about growing old and gaining experience. We've learned a thing or two about birthdays, for example. Or should I say that I've learned how to make them easier on myself? My fourth baby just turned one, and unlike our first baby (who had two fully decked-out, themed 1st birthday parties - one for each side of the family), we didn't make much of a show. We carried out the typical traditions, but we did them very low-scale, with no prior preparation, and no guests other than ourselves and our little guest of honor. The birthday boy had one cake and got one present, which to me felt perfect since he just turned ONE! It's funny though, because I hesitated to let any of the other children touch his new toy. It dawned on me that this was the first and only thing we had ever bought just for him. Being our 3rd boy and our 4th child, he is the royal heir of many, many hand-me-downs. It seemed like he deserved to be the sole proprietor of that toy, at least for one day. And that's not the only injustice he suffers for being fourth. I don't take as many pictures of him and I still haven't written about the day he was born in my journal. Ironically, I was the fourth child in my family and since I shared his plight, you would think I'd serve him better. But the truth is, I've come to believe (probably like my mom did by the time she had me) that less is more with a one-year-old, and themed birthday bashes are best enjoyed and appreciated by enthusiastic five-year-olds. Still, here's penance for that forgotten journal entry (and a few pictures of Liam's birthday party):


Liam Scott Gordon was born on July 10, 2009 at 2:54pm. Liam is short for William (Scott and I each have a grandfather named William) and his middle name is after his dad, obviously. His pregnancy, labor and delivery all went smoothly without complications (aside from my want for an epidural and my embarassing display of screaming from pain). Liam was induced like all my babies were, but his delivery day was a little different from the others, since his dad was a brand new resident at a different hospital and couldn't be there with me the whole time. Grandma Wellman and Aunt Kimber had to fill in and keep me company while the labor progressed, and dad walked in just in time to see Liam come out. He was perfect in every way - tiny and beautiful without a scar or a scratch. His eye and hair color remained elusive for many months, but now we can finally tell that he is a brown haired, brown eyed boy. The most noticeable thing about Liam is his giant mouth that is constantly gaping open, which makes for lots of drool, but also means giant smiles - and oh, how we love them! Liam has seriously never been a care or a burden, only a joy. He slept through the night right off the bat, and he eats like a champion. He is now thick and cuddly as can be. It gives me the happiest feeling when he nestles into my neck. Happy birthday little one! We LOVE having you in our family.