Saturday, October 04, 2008

Birthday month is upon us!

The pressure's on, folks... 5 of my children have birthdays in October... and 3 of them in the same week (can you believe it??)... and I have a miserable cold. Oh Lord, help me to heal quickly!


I can't promise that I'll be able to do each birthday justice (and oh, will I feel bad if I leave someone out!), so let me highlight NOW the birthdays (and anniversary!) coming up:

October 3rd: Sean turned 11, and had his very first sleep-over. We have a small house, so there's really no place to put a bunch of kids who plan on giggling all night... unless you put them in a tent in the backyard! Problem solved!

I know that many are tired of hearing his story, so I'll just direct you to last year's birthday write-up if you care to see how he came into this world. We are so blessed to have him.

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

October 11: Miss Grace is turning ONE! It's been a wild ride with this one, starting with the panic attacks that I had (see my St. Therese post below) in the hospital after having her. She's an incredible imp and we love her to pieces!

October 15: My dear, sweet, quiet Kathryn is turning 8. She came into this world howling like a banshee (she screamed the ENTIRE time the doctor's were sewing me up after the c-section), and she has been a little spitfire ever since. She was a challenge for the first two years, and then she turned into this amazing, sweet, wonderful little girl who takes joy in quietly serving. When I'm having a rough day with Grace, I can guarantee you that Kathryn (or Reilly) will come up and tell me that they are just itching to play with her... and graciously take her from me for awhile so I can think.

Underneath all that sweetness, though, is still the same little spitfire we saw in the OR. She loves to serve and will bend over backwards to help, but if she feels like someone has crossed the line, look out! When she was very, very little... maybe 7 months or so... Sean tried snatching a toy from her (he was 3 at the time). She got this look that can only be called righteous indignation, and she reached out and smacked him across the face and grabbed it back.

While we don't condone hitting, my husband watched that exchange and said, "I don't think we ever have to worry about Kathryn. She'll be able to stand up for herself."

And she does.

Kathryn, I love you more than words can say. You rock!

October 16: yes, the very next day Thomas turns 5! To say he "twinkles" just doesn't do it justice. He has got more energy than I've ever seen a child have before, and he just flits from one activity to the next, with an angelic smile on his face that can light up a room.

He is a challenge, though. He tries to use that smile to get out of doing what he doesn't want to do, and my husband and I struggle to keep him contained without breaking his spirit completely. I can only trust that God will give us the wisdom needed to raise this little guy.

But when it's all said and done, that sweet little guy will ask me to lay down next to him and tell him a story about when I was little, and he will grab my face in his hands and say, "you are really the best Mommy in the whole world... the whole UNIVERSE even!"

I love you too, baby. You are my most favorite-est 4 year old in the whole wide world, and it's a joy to have you in my life!

October 20: Ah, the poor kid is going to get more than her fair share of "broccoli birthdays," because we're all going to be so sick of cake by the time hers rolls around!

Miss Marie is turning 3. What a joy she is! We really got spoiled with her. After 5 children who had to be convinced that it really was time to go to bed, we were blessed with a child who would look at us sweetly, say (with her eyes) "oh, is it really time to go to bed? OK, if you insist..." and lay down without so much as a peep. My husband and I couldn't believe it. We didn't think God made these models anymore!

Believe it or not, I can trust this little girl to watch the baby... and she does a FANTASTIC job. Not a lego... not a marble... not a cheerio can go into Grace's mouth without Marie seeing it and saying, "No! No! You take dat outta your mouwth!" If Grace has climbed up on something, Marie will let me know. If she's reaching for the dog food or trying to swish in the toilet, my faithful babysitter is there.

What amazes me... and I know it's all God's grace... is that each child has gotten used to losing the "baby" status easily and gracefully, and has taken his or her role as an older sibling quite seriously. Marie still loves to snuggle, and I try to give her that whenever I can, but she's more than willing to scoot over for the baby, and to help me look after her.

Another first with Marie -- she's the only child we've had who has a special blanket. Her Dee-tee, she calls it (it was her attempt at saying "sleepy" when she first learned to talk). Dee-tee goes everywhere, and she worries that he will be lonely if she leaves him too long.

I love you with all my Mommy heart and soul, sweetie!

9 comments:

Beth said...

Wow you've got some GREAT kids :) I can't wait to meet them in person one of these days!!

Sweetness and Light said...

Well, you are one amazing mommy!! Happy birthday month to all your sweeties. Mine turns 10 on Monday, yikes!

Amy said...

Many happy birthdays all around!

Ouiz said...

Thank you all!

Beth -- Next time I'm up your way, I will CALL YOU and we WILL get together! I'm just sorry I blew it last time.... [sad face]

Meredith -- Happy Birthday to your wonderful daughter! Suzanne says she is the sweetest young lady!

Amy -- good luck with all your birthday celebrations as well!

SHEAFmom said...

I found your wonderful blog by following your comment on my sister Jessica's blog at http://www.faustinafarm.com/blog/ What a wonderful month October is in your home, also an expensive way to start the holiday season :-P. Although the Lord allowed us to conceive at least 8 wonderful, little, eternal, souls He only granted us the privilege of holding 3 outside the womb. Of our 3 birthday children we have 2 of them in December to match Daddy(we have kept approximate conception dates for the 5 we "lost"). Both December babies were due 2 days apart in January but 1 came almost 4 weeks early and the other over 2 weeks early. When I became organized enough to celebrate baptismal feast days I discovered they share that day exactly 5 years apart :-)

Ouiz said...

Jessica, thank you for stopping by!

I would imagine that December birthdays take quite a bit of extra creativity to pull off. My hats off to you for having TWO December birthdays (or was that THREE, with your husband?) to deal with! whew!

I looked at your blog, and you have a beautiful family! Congratulations on your new horse! My oldest children LOVE horses, and have been given the (temporary!) gift of riding lessons. They are loving every second of it!

God bless!

Margaret said...

Hey Ouiz -
Since Sean is now *eleven* (where did the time go?), is it time to update your blog header?

Happy, happy, birthdays to your brood!

Much love from the north,
The Suburban Cowfamily :)

Michelle said...

wow...all in one month...we only have 2 in one month. what/how do you celebrate?

Ouiz said...

Everyone gets their own special day with their own cake and presents. We stick to "family" birthdays for the most part, although we have had birthday parties as well.

We stick to the simple parties that dh and I had as children: a few games, lots of running around, cake, a few presents, and then more playing. No theme, no goodie bags, no "over-the-topness."

Birthday person gets to choose the dinner as well.

Ah, October... the month of sugar!