thoughts on raising a boy

Today we celebrated Jacob's 12th birthday. Wait, we took him out for lunch on Sunday. (3 days ago) Grandparents will arrive bearing gifts in 4 days. Jacob has the privilege of extending his celebration over the span of many days. In our effort to keep him from feeling slighted, we may err on the side of overindulgence. That is not to say that we over-shop. Certainly not. About an hour ago he unwrapped 2 presents. Yes, only 2!

Let me backtrack 12 years to explain how this extended celebration came to be.

Jacob's predicted due date: ??? sometime near the end of May, 1998 ???

Almost date of birth: Indy 500 Sunday (Memorial Day weekend)

Actual date of birth: June 9, 1998

Actual size of baby: 9 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces (giant) 22 inches long

Actual size of mommy: 5 ft. 2 in. (pre-pregnancy weight around 115 pounds)

First words spoken by Dr. Swan: "Hurry up and weigh this kid! He's huge!"

Actual words spoken by night-shift nurses: "You'll never have enough milk for this baby. We gave him a bottle in the nursery."

Actual milk production: enough for that kid to eat for 20 minutes on each side everyday, on demand for approximately 3 months. (then we found a schedule)

Sorry for the digression. So, why do we celebrate Jacob's birthday in such a scattered, spread-out fashion? Because my husband is the director of admissions at a university who holds a new-student enrollment fest every year in early June. No matter what day of the week June 9 happens to fall, it always conflicts with the 3-4 day spread of registration at the college. Boo-hoo, poor us, I know. If Jacob had been born over Memorial day weekend, well, lots of things would be different (like his birthweight). After 12 years I would like to report that I'm "over it", but sadly, I have barely come to terms with this fact. (9 pound babies should be born to mothers closer to 6 feet than 5) Well, that's my birthday complaint, and I'm stickin' to it!

I have grown up a lot while rearing our 2 kids. I've had a lot of help from my wonderful husband. ( I can't imagine doing this alone. )

Maybe tomorrow I'll have some great and wonderful insights to share regarding raising kids. There might even be a recipe of two thrown in. We just devoured half a dark chocolate cake smothered in Nutella ganache, and I am feeling a bit sluggish.

Good night.