12 years old

Silly boy on his birthday

Sean asked me to make his favorite cake-german chocolate

Bringing his cake to the table

All lit up

Happy birthday, Sweet Pea

Today is Sean's 12th birthday. It's amazing, really, how quickly the twleve years have passed, and yet at the same time it seems like so long ago that I first held him. He made me a mother. My first-born child. The one that turned my life around, and made me realize exactly what it means to live. The one that taught me that I can love another human being so much that it hurts.

Sean came into this world at 3:34pm on February 22, 1995, weighing a whopping 11 pounds and measuring 23 inches. He was perfect from the second he was born, and caused quite a stir around the hospital with his size. Doctors, nurses and staff members from all over the naval hospital at Camp Lejeune came to see him during the two days that we were there. He was the largest baby born in that hospital at that point, and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of my pride and joy. I was happy to share.

He is one of the most loving children I have ever known in my life, and I am so happy and blessed to be his mother. Those who have taken the time to get to know Sean over the years, and really embrace his personality, have been pleasantly rewarded by having met one of the kindest souls that exist. He is adored by all of his teachers, school staff (especially the librarians, who hold a very special place in Sean's heart) and even his bus driver. I actually get notes sent home from his bus driver telling me how kind and caring Sean is towards her when the other students are making fun of her or causing her problems on the ride to school. Sean isn't afraid to stand up for those that he cares for.

So today I sat and looked at pictures of his birth, read his baby journal, and shed a few tears as I realized that my Sweet Pea is growing up all too quickly. Happy birthday, Sean. I love you up to the sky and down to the ground.

Thank you, Aunt Sue!

Erin got a package in the mail yesterday from Aunt Sue. She received a package of tattoos, three necklaces and two bracelets, all of which she had to wear at the same time. And of course she had to have a tattoo right away, so she chose the rose to go on her lower back. She was so excited to get a package, and even more excited to see what was inside. She says, "Thank you, Aunt Sue!".

Love this picture...

...and this smile. She just melts my heart.

A weekend to remember...to come

My wonderful friend, Pam, is due to arrive next Saturday, and we have a fabulous, all girls three day weekend planned. It is going to be a blast. Pam and I have the three days completely to ourselves. I have rented a convertible Mustang for the two of us to use while she's here, so that we can cruise around and be complete goofballs with the wind in our hair. We have dinner reservations on Saturday night at The Melting Pot (fondue, baby, here we come!!!), and we also have brunch reservations at my favorite place on the water, Island Way Grill (www.islandwaygrill.com), on Sunday. Aside from that, we'll spend some time having drinks on the beach (those Amaretto Sours are calling my name, Pam), shopping, eating more great food, and just enjoying ourselves.

Honest Abe

This was our conversation after school today.

Erin: Mommy, do you know who's picture is on a penny?
Me: (acting as if I didn't know) No, who?
Erin: It's Abraham Lincoln. I can't believe you didn't know that.
Me: Wow. Thank you for teaching me that.
Erin: And do you know what his nickname is?
Me: No, what is it, honey?
Erin: It's Honest Abe. Honest means telling the truth.
Me: That's right. Good job learning at school today.

I am so pleased with the education that Erin is receiving at her school, and she comes home so excited to share the knowledge every day.

She can tie her shoes!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Erin can now tie her shoes, and she's very excited about it. She has it down perfectly now, and I caught her doing it this morning as she got ready for school.

And the spotlight is all hers

After signing WHAT'S UP


Just being silly before she ran back to me


She picked me a flower, but uprooted the entire plant


Twirling for all to see


Running back towards me


Just being the sweet little girl that she is

We took Sean, Bren and Erin to Islands of Adventure this weekend (with a couple of Sean's friends). While Erin and I were waiting for everyone else to get off of one of the rides, she decided to have a show of her own. While I sat at a table, she ran back and forth between me and the fence, she danced, she twirled...you name it. She couldn't have cared less about the thousands of people that were walking by her at all times. A lot of people actually stopped to watch her, commenting on how pretty and amusing she is. One young man even commented that "she's going to be a star one day". I just sat there, watching her, smiling, and taking it all in. She makes me laugh every day.

My baby boy is 10

And so it is. My sweet baby boy, Brendan, is in the "double digits" now. How did that happen so quickly?

It's hard to believe that at 10:19pm last night, it had been ten years since I first held this beautiful little boy in my arms. He'll always be my Boo-Boo, much to his disliking.

Biker girl

Since she can now ride her bike without training wheels, Erin wants to ride all of the time. She had to show Grandma K and Auntie how well she can do before they left. Of course Daddy is always right there by her side!

A visitor in the yard

We have a lot of beautiful birds in this area of the country, but the cranes are probably the most widely seen. The sandhill cranes, which are HUGE, are in our yard all of the time. Since there is a lake behind us, I think that they like to hang out there, and watch for small fish.

Today, we looked out the back window and saw a beautiful whooping crane walking along the wall that borders our back yard. He was just walking along, eating bugs off of the bougainvillea, and he didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that I was standing there taking pictures of him. They are just so beautiful, and graceful.

Erin's 4th birthday party

We had Erin's 4th birthday party at Anderson Park on Saturday, February 3rd. It was a month after her birthday because we wanted Brian's mom and aunt to be here to celebrate with us. It was so much fun. My baby girl had a great time with her family and friends there to share the day with her.

My baker

I came home from school last night, and Sean had baked a homemade yellow cake with homemade chocolate icing. Yep, all from scratch! He knows that I do everything from scratch, and we bake a lot together, but this was his first cake that he did without any supervision. And it was GOOD! He was so proud of it, and so excited to show it to me when I got home. I meant to get a picture of it before we tore it apart, but everyone was too anxious to eat it, so there are no pictures.

Brian's mom and aunt are in town, so I'll have lots of pictures to share once they leave.