happy 9th birthday, joshua!

it was the night before i was due with my second baby. the only tv we had was in the basement of our townhouse. pat and i had just finished watching some type of law & order show..actually, i had just finished watching it, pat was asleep next to me on the couch (9 years later this is STILL how most evenings end! :-))

i only remember all those details because it was right THEN, about 11 pm, that my water broke. no mistaking it. it broke.

i woke pat up, told him. we called the dr. they said to come into the hospital. i am pretty sure we woke rebekah up (she was 2) and brought her with us and met my parents at the hospital. i can't exactly remember that? but i DO remember feeling some STRONG contractions while we were driving! this was the only labor of mine that my water broke, and the contractions really do come on a lot stronger and faster!

we got to the hospital, got checked in, got my epidural. and joshua was born at 3:23 am on februrary 7, 2004 with 2 pushes. he was born ON his due date and was by far my easiest labor.

rebekah was a very fussy baby. all the "baby equipment" (exersaucer, swing, bouncy seat) were still in perfect condition because she never let me set her down. i remember putting joshua in the swing the first couple weeks and he would just SIT there and look around! not scream...even fall ASLEEP! AND THE SWING WASN'T EVEN ON!!! i remember thinking, "THIS is what people have been talking about!" all those times people asked, "isn't having a baby the most precious gift? blah blah." i mean, it IS. but rebekah was HARD as a baby and, truthfully, not very enjoyable or sweet.

joshua? SO very enjoyable and sweet! he hardly ever fussed, ate SO well, slept well. he came into the world so easily. and has stepped lightly through life ever since.

he exudes a calmness that is hard to describe. but, if you've experienced it, you know what i mean. it's a precious thing (especially for this mom with some, um, more "spirited" kids ;-)).

our family is SO blessed to have him. i LOVE being his mom. i love his heart for his family...he is SUCH an amazing big brother (and he and rebekah have the coolest relationship!) i LOVE watching him play sports. he does well in school but, so far, doesn't really seem to "get" how smart he is or how easily most things come to him.

my greatest concern as joshua's mom, because he's so quiet and doesn't make waves, has always been that i won't KNOW when something is really wrong. but, a couple time in the last few months, i've been able to tell almost immediately when something isn't quite right with him. AND he has come to me and talked to me about whatever it was. i know as he gets older, this might not continue. but, for now, i'm thankful!

i decorated the house last night...

we ate breakfast on a basketball court :-)

he said the balloons hanging from his bedroom door scared him. i was afraid of that...

a neighbor gave rebekah 2 tubs of ice cream when she had her tonsils out. so she has ice cream to give away :-)

sadly, joshua is still home sick with strep today. and hasn't done much more than this:

i DID drag him off the couch to go meet pat for lunch at chick fil a. he only ate 2 bites of his sandwich. that says a lot...

we are going to celebrate his birthday FULLY tomorrow - with the special breakfast he asked for, gifts and cake and movie night tomorrow night. hopefully he'll be much better by then!!

for now, he's sitting next to me on the couch watching karate kid and i'm kind of enjoying it :-)

he said earlier this morning, "mom. i think it should be a rule that you can't be sick on your birthday." me too, buddy!

joshua, happy 9th birthday. i know you'll always remember being sick on your 9th birthday. but i'll always remember that i got to BE with you. i love you so much.