a birthday week

enjoying the sea with my boy

he loved it!

snacks

watching his auntie swim in the sea and thinking it's pretty cool

helping dad drive the boat

our lovely sunset

all smiles

charlie making himself comfortable on his doggy chair

char blowing bubbles for the birthday boy

his shirt says it all

sweet brothers

curious george birthday cake for my little monkey

charlie's new thing... climbing into everything he can fit into (and can't)

auntie giving instructions on how to blow his candle out

in the end, dada had to blow it out for him

and then he got to dive in, reluctantly

he even got to taste his own cake

this past week has been quite wonderful. i have had a lot of emotions about my baby boy turning one. mostly excitement. this really has been the best year of my life. that says a lot since i have fully enjoyed all of my years. charlie has taught me more about myself in this last year than i learned in any year of school or work or travel.

we started out the birthday week doing what we love... spending a few hours on the water. i'm not sure who ordered the weather this past week, but it has been absolutely perfect. normally this time of year is when we have the highest chances of getting storms (tropical storms and hurricanes). but... this year, not a chance. it is far too "cool" with a fresh breeze coming from the north, rather than the east. the temperature has been in the upper 70's or lower 80's and the humidity is low for belize. perfect. so, that meant that we were able to get outside a lot. our trip out on the boat was exactly what we needed. we simply anchored and swam and floated in the beautiful caribbean. charlie got to get in with char and i, floating around in his birthday suit. he loves loves loves the water. any water, whether it's his bathtub, the pool, or the sea, he giggles with delight the whole time he's submerged. perhaps he knows how cleansing it is. or perhaps it's because he was born in water. whatever the reason, it makes me happy. it's also a requirement if you're going to be related to oliver stuart. he is a fish after all.

then came the birthday celebration. we chose to keep it small and just family. i didn't want it to be overwhelming for anyone, especially charlie. so we got to hang out at char and ted's. sylvia cooked a lovely dinner, as always, and we had cake. char also got some bubbles for charlie. he was fascinated by them. it was sweet.

now we begin charlie's second year of life. he is progressing perfectly... a happy and healthy boy. he has forever changed my life.... and anyone who has the pleasure to meet him. i see everything differently. some things have lost meaning and others have gained it. i really can't imagine what my life would consist of without charlie in it. i'm sure i would continue to grow and be happy... but now, life is full.

happy first birthday my sweet boy.

you are loved beyond words.