Charles "Charlie" Todd Weathers

Little Charlie is finally here! After nearly 51 hours of contractions and extremely exhausting labor, the journey finally came to an end at 3:58am on Friday, August 28 2009. Weighing in at 6lbs 2oz, laying at 19 and 1/2 inches. He is the most incredible and precious sight ever. Beginning at home around 1:00 am on Wednesday morning little Charlie started the journey into the world. We ended up at the Womens Birth and Wellness Center in Chapel Hill where we were expected to give birth to our son, but after many hours they transfere us to UNC at about 8pm on Thursday night. Things progressed well but then things took a quick turn which caused some concern to the nurses as well as the midwife but they dealt quickly and things corrected themselves. After several more hours the decision was made that the baby needed to come by C-Section and after just a short time we were holding our beautiful and precious son. He is the most amazing gift ever. I feel so blessed to be able to call Kathleen my wife for all she went through and she continues to surprise me even now as she recovers. I feel blessed that God would give us such an amazing gift who I can with no doubt say has changed my life forever. We are also blessed to have so many great friends and our family who have come to our sides with encouragement and prayers.

On another note, being at UNC has made me extremely proud that my son can say he is truly a Tar Heel. On a few occasions as he has begun to cry, I have taken him and sat in my chair which has also been my bed, which happens to look out to Kenan Stadium as well as the Bell Tower here on UNC's campus. We have been extremely pleased with the staff at the Birthing Center as well as here at UNC. Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed, texted, or facebooked us as we enter into this amazing time. We will hopefully be released sometime late tomorrow or Monday and then be back at home. We look forward to showing our little guy off in the coming weeks.

A Baby, the Beach, and a new Bathroom

So here we are relaxing and enjoying the beach after a wonderful dinner at the Island Grille, overwhelmed with anticipation and excitement about the new addition of the Weathers' family. That's right Charles "Charlie" Todd Weathers is days from exploding onto the scene where he is expected to do no less than change our lives forever. The whole idea of a baby has Kathleen and I full of excitement and as well as wondering what the future will hold for our family. We are extremely excited and feel blessed to be able to be the soon-to-be parents of a beautiful baby boy.

I for one can say that I am grateful to have survived the last 365 days of work. After missing only 2 days of work in the last year, it is indeed rewarding to be able to retreat to the beach for the week to recover from a long summer and even longer year. Looking back though it has been a great year. I can highlight a couple of things: finding out that Kathleen was pregnant was obviously one of the greatest moments of my life; finding out that this child to be was going to be my first son was yet another great moment; being able to see my Tar Heels win the National Championship in Detroit was unforgettable; and lastly having my love for Kathleen and our new addition grow over the last 38 weeks has unmistakably been the most remarkable thing I can ever remember in my short twenty-seven years of life. We are grateful to be able to come to the beach to rest, recover, and get ready for all that lies ahead.

And then there was the new bathroom...So I had the bright idea that I could renovate the master bath and do most of the work myself (thanks dad). Turns out working 70 hours a week and trying to get a nursery ready for a new baby are not a good combination for renovating a bathroom. Long story short, after a month of using the guest bathroom, both the nursery and master bathroom are ready for use. We both learned a lot during the process and know how to deal with the next project we face (probably the guest bath, then kitchen cabinets and countertops, then downstairs flooring, then half bath, then patio). But once again we stand amazed at how fortunate we are and how much God continues to bless our family. We are obviously happy to be done with the first of our many projects but consider all of this quite pitiful compared to the exciting arrival of "Charlie".