Life...changed: Almost 1 year

Ben and I were hanging out in my bedroom today and I noticed Ben was intently staring at his hand. I kept watching him and it dawned on me, he was playing with his shadow. He didn't realize it was his own shadow as he kept trying to grab the dark spot he could see on the ground. It kept him entertained for about 20 minutes though and it was so fun to watch. I wrote out my fathers day cards as he played. My dad pointed out, he would have been shocked if he received a card on time. I am always late with this stuff.

I sent out an Evite for Ben's first birthday today. (if you are in the area and I somehow inadvertently left you off...let me know, we are celebrating on July 18th). It's hard to believe that Ben is almost a year old. I put off sending the invite for a while because I wasn't sure how to celebrate the year birthday of a baby I was quite certain would never make it to a year old. He has been and is, as healthy as I could ever hope for. His dad and I will celebrate with him alone, just the three of us, at some point in July. So much has happened in the last year but we both love him immensely and want to watch him turn a year together. Nobody else but Josh and I will fully understand what we went through to get to this point. But we know you have all followed along as much as possible and we want you to celebrate with Ben as well. We couldn't have made it without all the love and support from our friends and family. Ben is loved, and none of us will ever doubt that.

In lieu of gifts, we have asked our party guests to donate to the March of Dimes. I included this note in the party invite: *To our dear family and friends - You have given us the greatest gift, your support when Ben was sick. Ben is lucky, he has his health and everything else he could need. I ask, in lieu of gifts, that you please donate to the March of Dimes in Ben's name. Please help other babies like Ben. Babies who would have never made it without the advances the March of Dimes has funded. http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurity/b.asp?band_id=48402

I am asking that y0u, my blog readers, also donate in Ben's name. We had dinner tonight with a couple that lost their baby at 37 weeks. The pain they feel on a daily basis is one no family should ever feel. Not only in Ben's honor, but in theirs, we hope to one day eradicate premature birth. Thank you for following Ben's story this past year. I hope that you will continue to follow in years to come and one day Ben can look and say, because of me, other babies lives have been saved.