My baby turns 9

Today is the 9th birthday of someone that means the world to me-my baby H-man aka Small Fry. This adorable, blondie is the exact replica of my Daddy - charming, ornery, easy-going, carefree, funny, clever, happy and a Momma's boy.  Everytime I see his charming smile, I wonder how on earth I was able to create such a beautiful little golden haired tooter.  And...if you know me, you know that I mean Tooter in the best way possible.  In the South, he's what we call a "mess"!

He's shy but gregarious. independent but very much a Momma's little guy, mouthy to his brother but adoring in every way towards him and caring but carefree.  This little guy loves fishing, playing football, soccer, basketball..well, pretty much every sport.  He loves the Atlanta Braves because his cousin plays minor league ball for the Mississippi Braves, which to him means he's the greatest pro athlete ever to grace the earth!  He loves going to OU football games and looking for Boomer and Sooner, the real horses and the mascots, but especially his favorite players.  He still rubs my upper arm, which has always been his "pinchy" since he was a breastfeeding baby.  His favorite thing to do when he sees his dog Allie is to feel of her big ol' jowls that hang down - he will sit and feel her jowls forever and that dog won't move an inch.  He completely got the "feeling" things from me.  I still love to squeeze my favorite pillow when I sit on the bed-I have no idea why! HA!  I have to remind him at bedtime not to hug Allie too tight when she sleeps with him.  He will completely cover her with his arms and legs while going to sleep-he adores her and his Beagle Baylee!  He's the kid that always cares that others are being treated fairly and nicely - he was super upset that the teacher this year gave a boy in his class a warning card for behavior on the boy's birthday.  He also is the snacker in the family-which reminds me of his Uncle Keith! I actually have to hide the candy and sweets or he would eat them non-stop throughout the day.  He sneaks the gum out of my purse and I go in his room to retrieve it almost weekly.  Little toot-see what I'm talking about?!  Every night when he goes to bed, he still wants me right there to tuck him in and give him a big kiss and hug.  He'll ask for another hug if the first one wasn't tight enough!  I loooove that!  When he gets dressed in the morning, he sometimes doesn't match at all and he doesn't care...it's just clothes.  I found a pair of shoes in his closet the other day that I bought 3 months ago and he had never worn.  Instead, he had taken the shoelaces out of the new blue Vans to put in his old soccer cleats because they needed new laces. He had forgotten that he had brand new shoes to wear.  He'll sit in the backseat of the car and work diligently texting someone and when I look on the phone, he's just been typing in random letters so his brother will think he has a lot of people to text on his phone too.  He'll walk around all day with food stains or Crystal Light stains on his face and it doesn't bother him one bit-silly guy! 

But most of all, this is the baby that saved me.  He was 8 months old when his Dad and I got divorced.  He was barely more than a newborn when it became a house with just us and his 36 month old big brother.  He was the reason I knew I had to get up every morning and keep going.  He was the reason I got up with a smile on my face and took on the world as a confident, positive, happy single mom.  This little baby was going to have a terrific life and I was going to make sure of it.  He still deserved a wonderful infancy and toddlerhood filled with love, happiness and positive people.  His brother was the reason too but my baby never had a chance to know what a family with a Daddy at home was like.  In fact, he acts like it never affected him.  He still thinks everyone has two Christmas's and two houses with extra Grandparents.  When we moved in with my parents, this little 1 year old sweetie would get up early every morning and run into his Dan-Dan (Grandpa) and sit in his lap, begging for a sip of his black coffee.  They would sit for an hour or more before waking any of us up.  That was their time and I'm so thankful for it since he only had his Grandpa till he was 3.  

This is also the little angel who at 3, one night after my Dad (Dan-Dan) was killed in a car accident, told me that he saw Dan-Dan after the policemen came to our house and Nana and I cried real hard (which was the police telling us about the accident).  He told me that his Dan-Dan had come into the room he was watching TV in and helped him change the channel and sat and watched cartoons with him, then walked down the hall to make sure Nana and I were ok.  He was barely 3 and I truely believe that happened with all my heart because of their relationship.  A 3 year old can't make something like that up.  It was the most comforting thought in the world told to me by a toddler.  I'll never forget that conversation and I will always treasure the gift he gave me by telling me.

At IHOP-where he wanted to have his birthday dinner!  He loves IHOP!

Checking out his soccer cake with his cousin Joshua

Reading birthday cards and looking for money like a typical 9 year old

Opening presents - he got the ITouch he had been wanting so bad thanks to his Nana

His big brother with his Nana Jack and Grandpa Arch (His Dad's parents)

Goofing around with his cousin and big bubba

Nana and Momma - so proud of what a big boy he's become

He loves his Grandparents!  He had all of them at one table! That makes for a happy little guy!

Blowing out the candles!

I love that he still gets embarrassed when we sing Happy Birthday to him!  He's done that since he was a baby!!!  Silly boy!

This is what your teeth look like when you eat a ton of blue icing-he thought it was hilarious!

This is what you feel like when you eat too much blue icing-ugh.

 This is the original "team" - I've always told my boys...as long as the three of us have each other, everything was going to be fine.  But, luckily that changed 6 years ago when we met Mr. H to.....as long as we have each other and Mr. H, who they love to call Dad now that we all got married last summer, everything will be just fine.

Because...now we're a complete team!

Happy Birthday Baby!!! 

Your Mommy, Daddy and Big Bubba love you more than you will ever know!!!