FOUR real?!

Brother had a birthday!

What?! I have a four-year-old?!

I guess my oldest should be 4 since I have three kids. :) I don't think a birthday will pass without momma tears being shed. I always seem to find myself still awake at the exact time of his birth - 12:09 a.m. (only on his birthday...I am way too old to do that every day). I was just finishing the decorations. Lots of blue because the boy loves blue. I was thinking about the minutes, hours, days before he came into the world. Days because his labor lasted that long. Days. Plural. He'll hear about that the rest of his life and maybe someday when he watches his wife go through labor he'll really appreciate it. His wife will for sure. Every single contraction was worth it. So were the hallucinations from whatever medication they gave me because the doc wouldn't allow an epidural even though I'd been on pitocin for, like, 10 or 11 hours. I'd do it all again. I'd even hang in there for a few more days of crazy pain. He is worth it all. He's my bud, my helper, my comic relief, my example. He made me a mom and he is constantly teaching me how to be a little better and how to grow in that calling. 'Love' doesn't seem like an adequate word to describe how I feel about this little dude.

His birthday was on Sunday, May 9th, so we took him out on the town on Saturday. We ate at a local burger joint - Noah's Ark - for lunch...
and then headed to the USS Turner Joy, a retired Vietnam war ship turned museum in the Bremerton Marina. It was awesome! The kids were thrilled. The weather was perfect. It was one of THOSE days. Those really fun, everything is right in the world days.

I had to throw this in...couldn't help myself. Can you believe I get to live here?

He fell down some steep stairs. It was awful, though he wasn't hurt. What kind of mother snaps a picture at a time like that?!

Also had to throw this picture in...she's so cute!

He spotted a cool airplane in the gift shop on the way in so we decided to get it for him on the way out. They are so easy to please at this age! It was $3.99.
The next day, the actual BIRTH day, we shared. It was Mother's Day. Max came and climbed in bed with me that morning and said, "I'm excited I get to share a special day with you!" We went to Church, came home and opened presents, took a nap together in the afternoon, and then had spaghetti for dinner (Max's request) with a really yummy salad topped with bleu cheese (my request).
Then his three best friends, Adam & Ian (brothers) and Reyes, and their families came over for some cake and ice cream. Low key. Lots of love. Perfect day.

Can't believe he's 4! Being a mom to this little man is a privilege.

Some Maxisms:

Recently Max went to give me a kiss and dramatically tilted his head. I asked what he was doing and he said that he was going to kiss me like Dad does. So we had a talk about son kisses and husband kisses - when sons kiss their moms they just kiss them straight up, no dramatic tilt of the head needed. A few days later he was standing behind me and leaned around my shoulder to plant one on me. His head was tilted and I could tell he was really thinking about something. Afterward he explained, "I wasn't kissing you like a dad, it's just because I was standing behind you and so I had to turn my head. I was still kissing you like a son." I'll take all the kisses I can get because I know he won't want to be kissing his momma forever!

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Today I told Max I had a job for him (he loves that!) and gave him something to take to the recycle bin in the garage. He came back inside and I thanked him. He said, "Well, I had two jobs."

Me: "Oh? What was your other job?"

Max: "I had to PUNCH the wind! I punched it like this (arms punching wildly). Like a boxer."

Me: "Why did you have to punch the wind?"

Max: "It was blowing on me and making me cold, so I had to PUNCH it."

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The other day Max had some friends over to play in the sandbox. I reminded them of the rules and then said I was going inside but would be checking back. Max says, "Oh, with your magic eyes?" Little dude seriously thinks I have eyes that can see through anything...I totally encourage it. As I'm walking away he turns to his friends and informs them in a this-is-so-going-to-impress-you tone, "My mom has MAGIC eyes!"