Happy Birthday, Matthew!

I read somewhere that to have kids is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. This is true in so many countless ways. I remember when Steve told me that in football if Jason gets hurt, I may NOT run out on the field-that his coaches will take care of him (little does he know I actually WILL run on the field if he gets hurt, shhhh). When Katie is upset because she got a lower grade than expected on something she worked so hard on, I feel it and hate that she's so sad. And when Matthew falls down hard because he's a new walker, and well, that's just what happens-I run to him with all the sympathy in the world, because he trusts me with every fiber of his being and expects my kind words. And it's because they are my heart. That will always be.

And today, Matthew is 1!! We all celebrated from when we woke up, to when Matthew went to sleep. I probably sang "Happy Birthday" to him 20 times today, whenever I thought about it. I can't believe everything we have all been through so far. We took him on his first vacation at 3 1/2 months, and his second at 10 1/2 months. We discovered he was prone to ear infections, and we took the initiative to try something unconventional before something medical (the chiropractor-which worked wonders!). We watched him climb stairs at an impossibly young age, and realized we would need stair gates much earlier than expected. The crawling, walking, cooing, smiling-I can see it all flash before my eyes if I close them. I want that engrained in there forever.

The past year has passed with lightening speed. We all have changed so much since Matthew has come into our lives, it's impossible to write about it in a single post on a blog. This past year, I have loved watching him do all the things babies do. And all the things only my kids do. :) I love to look over and see my 13 year old half boy/all teen/part man relentlessly making tiny Matthew laugh while he shakes him around on his knee. I smile to myself as I listen to a conversation between an 8 year old and her baby brother about how something works (even when she's completely wrong-it's the words and the tone that she uses that softens my heart). And it absolutely melts me when I look over and see Steve cooing and playing with Matthew.

I'm sure I will be on here, posting about his second birthday before I know it! That's what it's all about-this thing we call life. Enjoy some pics from his first birthday:
A card from Grandma-I absolutely love the look on his face! He looks so coy...

Here are the cupcakes I made special for Matthew today:










I also had to share this funny from KT. This is how the conversation went:

KT: Mom, for my homework I need to write down someone from my family and how old they are. So how old are you?

Me: I'm...wait, are you planning to write this down and turn it in. (I imagine it hanging on the classroom wall for all to see)

Katie: Yes.

Me: Then no way, I'm not tell you how old I am so you can write it for all to see. Ask someone else in the family.

Katie: (Thinks for a moment..then I see the lightbulb and her smile) Fine. Dad, how old is Mom?

It seems in addition to cute children, I am raising funny children as well.