A rain check celebration

On the evening of July 4, 1978, bad weather in Allentown, PA, canceled the annual holiday fireworks.  It was rescheduled.  Three days later, our family ushered in a beautiful little baby boy.  Shortly after his birth, the whole town lighted up in a glorious pyrotechnical display.  We like to think they, too, were also welcoming the town's newest citizen.  Ever since then, July 7 has been a special day in our household.

1978

While every family thinks their babies are the cutest in the world, ours really was!  He quickly acquired the nickname of Gorgeous George by a number of our friends (not us, at least not publicly), which was quite fitting.

9-10 months

Unfortunately, we seem to have misplaced the albums of his babyhood somewhere in the attic, so we haven't had much to digitize.

1984

We have come across a few odd ones here and there, including this sailor one that I've always loved.  This was possibly the first outfit I ever made him, and his sisters had contrasting matching dresses I also made.  Ah, such great memories of our young family.

On becoming a teen

As he got older, we were often on vacation over his birthday, transporting the family around the country to music competitions.  Thus, he often had to celebrate his day in strange time-share condos or campgrounds or even roadside rest areas, depending on which part of the vacation we were in.  If we happened to actually be at home, he often had a pool party with his friends, and Mom got to make him an actual birthday cake for a change.

His birthdays took on a whole new twist when we moved to Paris.  He turned 13 just before celebrating a full year in his new life, his sister came home from college (her first visit to the new family home), so we had a proper French celebration!

After we started doing our annual Fourth of July barbecue, he started inviting his friends over to party with us and then party with him.  His last year as a teenager was fairly memorable.  I made him a computer cake with his new engineering school logo on it, and he opened his own bottle of champagne to celebrate leaving high school and entering the university level of education.

1997

Celebration

19 candles

Let's party!

Me, too!

Parties can be fun for everyone, from the young kids just turning into adults, to the adults who have been adult long enough to know how to enjoy life.

After taking his turn at being festive himself, he and his friends retired to the living room for the more serious business of playing with computers, which was a rather new activity in France at the time.

I'm adult now?

Yes, computers

Our son

When he was born, he was named after his two grandfathers, a rather formal name for such a little person.  We gave him a nickname which he used all through his childhood.  But as an adult, he renamed himself, and now all his friends call him by his own chosen moniker. 

With whatever name he will answer to, we his parents wish him a great big heartfelt Happy Birthday today.  We love you immensely, whether you are Charles, Chip, or Vik.