Its so weird how a child's birthday takes a mom back to that exact moment when we held them for the very first time. I remember Ethan coming emerging (via C-section) and the doctor holding him up for us to peek at for the first time. And that memory is still CLEAR as day...even six years later. He was brown and fuzzy, and really teeny. And sooooooooooooo dang cute. I mean...REALLY cute. This was my first C-section and let me tell you...those babies fare MUCH better than the ones delivered naturally all squashed and cone headed. At 6.2 pounds, Ethan was a sweet furry ball of monkey-ness. How can you NOT fall in love with this precious face...
Ethan and daddy, Bodega Bay 18 mos old
So the plans, as requested by the birthday boy himself...is to have his party at the bowling/recreation center where he will be joined by six or seven of his best buds and we will eat pizza that tastes like greasy cardboard and a Star Wars Lego cake. (if I can FIND one....shhhhh....he doesnt know that I havent actually FOUND a Star Wars Lego cake yet....)
Good times! Dave and I added up the number of birthday parties we have thrown for our kids so far and it was something like 26. Granted, not all of the parties are "away"...we do take turns and some years they celebrate at home but I admit, I am getting pretty good at this now....:-)
So happy birthday to our awesome sweet Ethan Michael. We love you to the moon and back. Fifty hundred times (as he would put it).
Why Katie is so awesome.
Now, that sounds like a subject line she thought of herself, right? But actually...its all me. I am amazed sometimes at what a great kiddo Katie is...really. I have heard the stories of first-borns being the leaders, the compassionate ones, the ones driven to succeed. But I am not going to give in to the birth order myth so easy...this girl is a true gift from God.
She actually ASKS to hang out with me...to chat...and to "do my hair" --not always a pretty result but lots of good conversation along the way.
She WANTS to do well in school. She cares. Maybe a bit too much in the area of getting to school on time. Holy smokes, that girl is a clock nazi and if I EVER got her to school late I dont know what would happen. But guess what? I have never, in SIX YEARS of driving kids to school in the morning, been late. Through pregnancies, morning sickness...regular sickness, newborns having blow-outs just before heading out...I have always made sure she was on time.
I am sure there will be an award ceremony for that some day, right?
She is always CONCERNED about her brothers, her family. Especially Ryan. She notices when something he is doing may be "dangerous" for him. She worries....maybe a bit too much for her age. She catches baby Owen as he toddles down the hall with something in his hands that is deemed to be a "choker"...and removes it from his slobbery clenched fists, not flinching at the slobber part.
She TEACHES. She loves to give Ethan "homework", and play school in her bedroom. She spends hours making sheets of letters, matching, phonics, etc. I am pretty sure Ethan is only ok with this because in the end she gives him some type of treat.
Katie insisted on being there for her brother Ryan when he had some dental work done in the hospital. She woke up EARLY in the morning and remembered to bring his favorite stuffed animal. She kept a smile on his face and he wasnt even afraid for a minute. The funny part of this whole story is that--upon seeing Ryan in the recovery room all groggy and with some blood still on his face from surgery, Katie began to pass out, and it was SHE that had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair by the nurse. :-)
Entering the tweens.....my silly girl
She is a true animal lover...and is most at home on places like this...the farm in Sebastopol where I grew up.
And just check out the little lunch note Katie made for her brother to stick in his lunch box. You just cant ask for better stuff than this.....
So my sweet Katie, I hope you know how much you are loved and how amazing you are. Dont ever think about changing, because you have SO much substance at such a young age. I'm just so glad you belong to us.
And while you are at it, we are about to enter the pre-teen years...so if you ever need to remember how much you LOVE ME, and how cool I am to you...just read this. :-)
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