Firsts

Well, that classic of all firsts for Brown has arrived today - his first birthday. It is about 6am as I write this and a 6am call this day last year is what we got after 4 hours of sleep in a hotel to tell us that we better get over the hospital quickly if we had the urge to see our daughter born. Of course, this "daughter" gave us our first surprise in his first few seconds of breathing as given my years of medical training, I was able to astutely determine that Brown was a boy. Reflecting on his first year with us, I think back to all the firsts that we have had which most every parent will remember: first time we held him in our arms, first cry, first time to take him outside the hospital, first time to sleep under our roof at home, first middle of the night feeding, first fever, first set of shots, first cut to bring blood, first smile. I distinctly remember the first time he reached out his arms wanting to be held by me. First bites of food. First roll over. First time to come back in the room and him be in a different place (scary). First babysitter. This first son of ours has given us already a wealth of memories and for this we give thanks to God. We thank each of you for your prayers over Brown and look forward to what his second year will bring.