Sunday 8th January Happy Birthday Harry

I apologise for not posting this yesterday, I forgot to press the publish button doh!

Well as I sit and type, this time 12mths ago Harry had just made his entrance into the world, that too was an event filled day, from waters going, alarming some people on the stairs as my dear sis was making me laugh continuously, to more poor fetal traces, to having some drugs to push him out quickly.

Well here we are 12mths later and my darling Harry is now one, most babies first years are full of weaning crawling walking sitting playing gurgling etc but poor Harry's has been quite different. I am not going to talk about it today, so if you need to know please look at my earlier posts.

Today was also special as he is getting christened. We were going to the same church where the other 3 were christened, a lovely church but their service starts at 9.30am, so an early start was on the menu. Harry was adorned in the same outfit William was christened in, pale grey and white. He looks like an angel and i will post pics later.

He was as good as gold, all my children were as good as gold. They all sat quiet for the hour long service, yes even William did. The star of the show just looked coolly on as water was poured over his head (the vicar wasnt shy of using plenty of water) and when upright beamed a great big smile. She then paraded him round to meet everyone in the church, he was happy to be cuddled by her and stole the hearts of everyone in the church.
It was so nice at the end to have everyone comment on how well behaved my children were, stop youre making my head swell.
What was also nice, knowing Harrys condition, she never made reference to it once, so those that didnt know in the church just treated him like anyother baby and we had no pitying looks etc, she did get everyone to sing happy birthday to him which was nice. Hanty Rachel and Uncle Darren, and Danny's sister Diane and other half were his godparents. Only right that Hanty Raychel was one.

We went down to the 'establishment' for his party. Harry was passed around like pass the parcel and just smiled accordingly. He was really enjoying the fuss so much so he fell asleep for a good hour lol I think he knew just when to fall asleep as the food came out so he gave me some peace while I could eat, clever boy he he. He had 2 lovely cakes, one for Christening and one for his birthday. Huge cakes but amazing how quickly they got eaten. Good as I am trying to be good for my New Years resolution and bringing left over cake home equals me eating it. He got some lovely presents, a mixture of toys, clothes, money and keepsake mementos of the day. I will treasure the memory of it as for nearly the entire day there was no mention of the 'c' word and it all felt normal and happy.

All the children, including daddy, failed to overcome the lull of 'magic car' on the way home and either fell asleep in the car or shortly after getting home. I had a lovely quiet coffee, til Madeleine realised she hasnt had her tea yet!! So they all awoke to eat something and then they all went to bed early, leaving me and Harry, so at 8pm I snuggled him and gave him his milk. It was lovely it was just me and Harry, cos it was 8pm he was born, so the only person missing was Rachel (oh and the midwives)and for that short time as I cuddled him everything else around us faded into insignificance. Happy Birthday my darling sweet little Harry xx

And so reluctantly I put him to bed so I could type this up. The house is quiet (apart from daddys snoring)and I can reflect on today and the past year. Despite everything that has gone on, and the dreaded 'c' word, Harry still arrived safely, and still grew (albeit not that quickly) and still became part of our family and still touched the lives of everyone he meets. He is loved by so many and adored by his brothers and sister and his mummy and daddy. I cannot imagine life without him, just like any other family with children. The only difference is that we have to also deal with his 'predicament' as I said in my profile message and first ever blog. Harry is still waiting to be given a break and I look forward to the time we go to Birmingham and they say 'actually we don't need to see him for amonth, 2 months, 3 months..' but thats a part of his journey which is at the other side of something like the Hampton Court maze. (which is massive)
We have a battle as we try and find our way through that maze, as some paths will lead us to walls and obstacles and some closer to the end,but I know that Harry will face and overcome every obstacle he comes across. His first year was bad, bloody awful actually but he has made it this far and this shows his courage and grit and bravery. It will take more than cancer to get him down and I am so so proud of him. Harry's journey goes on, and I will keep you posted all the way through it, though thick or thin and hopefully this time next year he will have made progress closer towards the end, and not have taken paths back towards the start of the maze.
His journey as a one year old will take its next step on Friday 13th as we will find out if anymore tumors have grown. I am expecting so but hope that there is none. He has gathered so much support on facebook, his blog and on twitter and we draw from the support and it keeps us going. Thank you all.

My final words, thank you Harry for being the wonderful boy you are, and making me the proudest mummy in the world. You are beautiful and courageous and I am so lucky to have you. God Bless you xx