Happy Birthday to Henry

Last week Henry turned five.

It was a greatly anticipated event.

For weeks, before his birthday, Henry would come up to me and say, "I just can't believe it."

"Believe what?", I would ask.

"I just can't believe I am going to be five!"

I feel the same way.

It is hard to believe that my "tiny" Minnesota son/sun, is already five-years-old and is getting ready to start Kindergarten in the fall.

My pregnancy with Henry was the hardest of all five.  For the first four (plus) months, I was sick, sick, sick.  And for the last four (plus) months, I was HUGE, HUGE, HUGE.

My doctor could tell I was carrying a big baby and I had excess amniotic fluid - so I really was huge, and I kept being tested for gestational diabetes (which I never had, but was always right on the cusp.)  Andrew was in his second year of residency, which was ridiculously busy, and we were in Minnesota, far from home and family.  It was definitely a rough nine months.

(Two days before Henry was born and the only thing that fit me were Andrew's XL scrubs.)

But, when the blessed day finally arrived, my delivery was easy.  Henry made his arrival weighing 10 lbs 6 oz and was healthy and handsome - even from the beginning.  Henry was the easiest baby ever - he was so sweet and peaceful and calm.  He made the transition to three kids a breeze.  I will always be grateful to him for that.

For the past two (plus) years Henry bas been a source of entertainment and comic relief.

Henry seems to be out growing his mischievous phase, (knock on wood) but still keeps us amused with funny things he says and with the things he remembers.

Last week, the day before his birthday, our family went for a walk and Henry rode his bike.  The final 100 feet of our walk, were up a steep hill that leads to our house.  Henry rode his bike all the way up the hill without stopping.  When we got home, I told Henry how impressed I was that he'd been able to make it all the way up the hill.

Henry looked at me and said, "See Mom, you were wrong."

Confused, I asked, "What was I wrong about."

Henry said, "When we were eating taco soup, you said if I didn't take five more bites, I wouldn't be strong enough to ride my bike this summer.  I only ate THREE bites, and I was strong enough to ride my  bike up the hill."

I thought about what he said, and started laughing when I realized it had been at least TWO MONTHS since we'd had taco soup for dinner.  He'd been thinking about that for a long time, and when he got the chance, he proved me wrong.  (Should I be nervous?)

Anyway, I love my five-year-old Henry.  I love his enthusiasm for reading and for words.  I love to hear him sing - especially"How Firm a Foundation" and the song from "Land Before Time." I love the way he takes care of Lucy and makes sure she is safe and protected.  I love my conversations with Henry which give me a glance at the way he sees the world.  I love that he daily finds me flowers and blossoms to wear behind my ear.  I love to watch Peter and Henry play together - and when Henry calls to Peter, "C'mon Buddy!"  I love his sense of humor and how thoughtful and sensitive he is.  Henry is a great boy.

Our family is so lucky to have this sweet, funny, stubborn boy.  Happy Birthday Henry-boy.  We love you!!

To Celebrate...

Isaac and my mom's birthdays, we went to dinner at Bonsai, a Japanese steakhouse not far from where we live.  My mom picked it because she thought the kids would love watching the dinner-making show (you know, throwing knives, making volcanoes out of onions, starting fires on the cook top right in front of our eyes.) Well, as usual, Mom was right.  The kids LOVED it - and most importantly, Isaac loved it.

Nothing but smiles from this group.

At one point during the meal, Isaac turned to Oma and said (with all sincerity) "This is better than the circus!"  He loved the whole thing - and when the chef threw a shrimp and Isaac caught it in his mouth, he grinned from ear to ear.

Abby loved it, because she and my sister, Emily got to share their very own plate of sushi.  Abby loves sushi more than any other 8-year-old girl I know, and to share it with her aunt made for a great dinner.

As soon as our chef came to the table and started banging his knife and other utensils around, Peter immediately stuck his fingers in his ears and stayed that way for the rest of the dinner.  I could tell he was a little scared, but he was also so intrigued, that he didn't take his eyes off the chef even for a minute.  Unfortunately, I think the highlight of Peter's dinner was going around the table afterward and eating the pieces of shrimp that had fallen on the floor instead being caught in people's mouths.  (And yes, I realized he was doing it, but somehow didn't care enough to stop him.)

After we ate dinner, we came back to our house for cake and ice cream.  One of my favorite things is to watch my mom and Isaac sing Happy Birthday to each other.  They both sing and point to each other and it is darling.

And there's Peter dressed as a knight....

"Happy Birthday to YOU!"

Isaac loves sharing his birthday with Oma.  He always says that they are a birthday present to each other.   I love them both and love that they can share this day together.  It was a great birthday!

Isaac is Seven!

Today our family officially kicks off BIRTHDAY SEASON!  Between now and the end of June, we will celebrate six out of the seven birthdays in our family.  I, of course, am not among those members of my family fortunate to celebrate a birthday at this glorious time of year, but I am excited to celebrate each and every one of them.

Today we celebrate Isaac and the blessing he is in our family.  In our family, we have a birthday tradition.  The night before someone's birthday, we curl up with the birthday child, and I tell them the story about the day they were born.  Each of my kids LOVE hearing these stories - and by now, they know them so well, that if I forget even the smallest detail, they remind exactly what happened on the day they were born.

Seven years ago, yesterday, I was hugely pregnant, feeling ready to explode - but there was a part of me that wasn't quite ready to have my second baby yet.  I was having contractions and Andrew and I were getting ready to go to the hospital but I was an emotional wreck (sobbing, crying, bawling) as I thought about Abby's little world being rocked with the birth of a new brother.

Around 11:00pm, my contractions were getting stronger and I knew it was time to call the hospital to let them know that we were coming.  I called Georgetown Hospital and when I reached the nurses, they  put me on hold for minute.  As I sat there on hold, U2's song "The Sweetest Thing" played on the line.  I hummed along, waiting for the nurse to get back on the phone.  Suddenly, one of the lines from the song jumped out at me.  "Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl.  Oh, oh, oh the sweetest thing."

I heard that line and thought about my sweet baby boy meeting his beautiful brown-eyed sister and I knew it would be the sweetest thing I had ever experienced.  I still cried when I went in Abby's room to kiss her good-bye before leaving for the hospital, but I was also so excited for these sweet children to meet each other.

We call this one "Love at First Sight" (and it was.)

Isaac was born the next morning at 7:51am.   He weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds 6 ounces, and was perfect.  My parents were in Utah but were leaving for Mexico at 8:00am that morning.  I was able to call them just before they left, to let my mom know that her newest grandchild had been born on her birthday!  (That may have been the only birthday present she got from me that year, but it was a good one.)

My blue-eyed boy meets my brown-eyed girl

Over the next day or so, Andrew and I debated what we should name this new baby.  At one point, we settled on William and felt good about that.  But as I held and cuddled my new baby, I knew that wasn't his name.  Andrew was home with Abby when he called me and asked, "How's William?"  I started to cry and said, "His name isn't William.  It's Isaac."  And, oh how that name fits him.  The name Isaac means, "he laughs" or "boy who laughs" and that suits Isaac perfectly.  He is a happy boy who we all love to be around.

We all love this boy and we are so glad that he came to our family.  He really is "the sweetest thing."

Happy Birthday to our Isaac!

Guess What Isaac Got For His Birthday this year?

Twin girl cousins!!

CONGRATS to Susanna, GK and Van

(and the new little ones!)

We love you!

Signs of Spring

Every year, as the weather starts to warm, there are certain rites of passage that mark the coming of Spring. Today, the first warm day, after a weeks of cold, stormy weather, I saw some of those signs indicating spring and even summer can't be far behind.

First, all my boys are sporting newly shorn buzzes.  Gone are the long, shaggy locks of winter and here are the sleek, short buzzes of summer.  Shaving off that hair is definitely one of the first things that marks spring has arrive and warmer days are ahead.

Today, as if on cue, the resident sidewalk chalk artists made their return.  Our front walk is now adorned in finery, heralding the return of spring and all our artistic juices.

And when the magic of the sidewalk chalk had worn off, out came the bubbles.  Isaac blew as the other kids watched the bubbles shimmer in the sunlight before they went racing to pop them.

Yes, every where I looked today there were signs of spring and I could feel it in my bones, that warmer days - they are a coming.  HOORAY!

On the Move

In the past week or so, Lucy has become a full-fledged crawler.  It wasn't that long ago, that I could put her down, go do something for awhile, and come back to find her in the exact same spot.

About a month ago, she discovered "commando crawling" and found that she could pull herself around with ease.  Now, she is really crawling - hands, knees, tiny bottom moving from side to side, and there is no stopping her.  The girl goes where she wants to go.  (I'm am still trying to decide if this is cause for celebration or mourning.)

Well, one of the places Lucy has found she likes to go, is right to the big windows in our family room that look out onto our backyard.  Suddenly, she has discovered that there is a big world beyond our backdoor and she is ready to experience it.

Obviously she can't talk, but as I watch her, I can tell she is dying to get outside.  She is ready to feel the sunshine on her face, breathe the clean air deep into her lungs, feel the grass tickle her toes and feel the wind blow through her hairs (the twelve of them that are actually long enough to catch a breeze.)

How do I know this is what she is thinking?  Because that's exactly what I am thinking as I stand by the windows and gaze longingly outside.

All Lucy and I need now is for it to stop snowing.

Peter

The other day I took some pictures of Peter.  He's a fourth child, and we haven't taken nearly enough pictures of that boy.  Later, as I looked back through the photos, I laughed out loud when I realized how perfectly those shots captured this little boy's personality - and believe me, he has a lot of personality.

He is happy and really funny.

He is grouchy.

He is silly - and maybe a little obnoxious.

He is sweet - and so sincere.

It took me a total of three minutes to take these pictures of him, and in that time he showed every side of his big personality, which made it a pretty typical three-minute span with Peter.

In the past six weeks or so, Peter has gone from saying a couple of phrases, to speaking in full paragraphs.  I love it when kids start to talk and suddenly a whole new side to their personality emerges.  A few days ago Peter said to me, "Yours skirt is cute, Mom." and a few minutes later, when he was mad, he yelled at Henry, "I want the dinosaurs to eat you."

I have loved getting to know this "new" Peter and all his funny sides.  And I have only have a few months until he hits "the threes" so I will enjoy every minute I can with this sweet boy.

I love you, Peter!

It's April

Apparently I have become complacent in my April Fool's Day celebrations.  I thought that making my kids eggs on toast for breakfast and then calling it a day, was good enough.  But this year, I was reminded that there is more to this holiday than canned peaches and whipped cream.

On Thursday, I was totally unsuspecting when my mom showed up at my door and told me she had brought me dinner.  I don't know why I didn't suspect something immediately; it's not like having my mom show up at my door with dinner is a common occurrence.  But truthfully, the only thing I thought when she  said she had brought me dinner, was "Hooray, I don't have to come up with something to eat tonight."

I went out to the car to get the food, and there it was, a delicious looking plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

So cute, so clever, and so yummy!

Well played Mom.  Well played.

(Needless to say, I still had to come up with dinner.)