Another Year Older...

Yesterday morning I woke up another year older (31 to be exact) and was greeted by Ethan screaming, "Had-A-Burfday mommy!" Followed by a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' that I'm pretty sure most would not be familiar with. After 11 months of prompting, encouraging and demonstrating, the little Miss decided to say, 'mama' for the first time! My kiddos sure know how to pick out the perfect birthday gifts! Brent was so sweet to grab some take-out and then prepare an amazing dessert of chocolate lava cake and homemade buttermilk ice cream...A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Then we put the kiddos to bed and caught up on an episode of LOST. My family sure knows the way to my heart! It was such a wonderful birthday.

There's one gift my mom gives me every year. She calls first thing in the morning to wish me a happy birthday, and then she tells me the story of my birthday. She shares in vivid detail the entire day, what she was doing before going into labor, how she was craving jell-o, the nerves of not knowing what to expect, the nurses, the doctor (who was the same doctor that delivered Brent...how cute is that?), reminds me that I was almost born on March 10th, and finally what it was like holding me for the first time. The way I looked, the smells, my skin, even the little bubbles I was blowing. I'm really not a narcissistic person, there is just something special about hearing your mother remember vivid details about the day she first became a mother. She always concludes her story with a sigh and says, "I will never forget that day. Here it is, years later, and I still remember every detail." I've never told her how I look forward to that call each year. Or how, now that I'm a mom, I totally get how you remember every last detail of your children's birth.

Here I am getting all sappy and sentimental. This is the part where I let out a nervous laugh, wipe my eyes and blow my nose. Ahem.

I should wrap this up now. Birthday's over and laundry is waiting.

Butter and Sugar...It's Snack Time.

Let me just start off by saying this time Stella is off the hook. Those are NOT her teeth marks in the above picture...and they're not mine either.

In your household butter and sugar are probably ingredients for a cake...in the Jackson household they are Ethan's guilty pleasure.

A couple of nights ago I was making snickerdoodles and had a bowl of cinnamon/sugar sitting on the counter...the next thing I knew in walked Ethan with the bowl, a spoon and a mouthful of the mixture. In between bites he proclaimed, "Mommy, this is so yummy!" I had him hand over the snack and just knew someone would be wide-eyed at bedtime. After about an hour of singing to himself, he finally crashed from his sugar-high.

This morning I walked into the kitchen to discover his latest snack of choice. Given he's not really the sedentary type, I imagine the 100 calories in that tiny bite were probably burned off by about 8am. The wise words of my sweet friend, Barb Rosberg, are ringing in my ears, "These are the longest days, but the shortest years."

My Endless Love...Or, Will You Wait For Me To Grow Up?

All of his four short years, Ethan has made it clear to us all what the hierarchy is for his affections. It goes something like this:

His two Papas

His two Nanas

Aunt Sarah...

and the rest of us.

Yes, even the mommy who labored with him 10 hours is lumped in the 'rest of us' category. Well, this weekend the woman currently ranked at #3 came with Uncle K.K. to stay before continuing on to Minneapolis. Ethan was beside himself with excitement. As a matter of fact, we purposefully did not tell him until two hours before their arrival...and he asked every 20 minutes if K.K. and Sarah were almost here. He told us how much he loved Sarah and that they were married...oh, brother!

And when they arrived...he took Sarah by the hand and the rest was history. They played cars, he showed her his favorite toys, he even gave her my seat at dinner (which happens to be next to him...it's okay, I'm not bitter.). He hugged her, kissed her, played with her hair and called her to follow him wherever he went...and she sweetly obliged. Yes, she's an amazing aunt. Sarah and Ethan seem to understand each other. They must be cut from a similar mold.

When it was time for K.K. and Sarah to leave...my sweet boy put on a brave face and said goodbye. But, when they pulled away in their car...he cried and cried and cried. "Mommy, I'm just so sad." He told me. I gave him hugs, wiped his tears and offered to play cars with him...he perked up and gave me his million watt smile. All was made right in his little world.

We truly enjoyed having Caleb and Sarah visit...Caleb, you have a rival for Sarah's affections...he just doesn't understand how binding marriage is. We're working on it.