Seventeen!

Yesterday my boy turned 17. Another hard one for me to wrap my head around. I traditionally tell him the story of his birth at bedtime on his birthday every year. Unfortunately last night we walked into his room to find the carpet soaking wet. So instead of story telling we were moving furniture and ripping up carpet. But that's ok... I will just tell it a day late. :)

We were living in the New Albany area because Aaron was working at UPS in Louisville. I had given up trying to get in and out of our waterbed a few months earlier, so we were sleeping in the spare bedroom. I spent the night sitting up in bed contracting every 10 minutes or so while watching OJ Simpsons now famous white bronco chase. When I think of my labor with Ethan... I always think of OJ.

We finally headed to the hospital about 5 a.m. We stopped at the McDonalds across the street first so Aaron could eat... while I contracted. However, Ethan was in no hurry and did not make his arrival until 6:16 that evening, after an extremely difficult forceps delivery. He weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz. (same as his Uncle Kent) and had a head full of black hair. Not only was he our first baby, he was the biggest, outweighing both brothers and his sister by over a pound each, and also holds the record for most uncomfortable pregnancy, longest labor and most weight gained for me... I was HUGE!

The last seventeen years now seem like a blur, although some things seem like they happened only yesterday and are still vividly etched in my mind. His first steps, his seeing Austin for the first time, the first day of Kindergarten... etc. My tiny baby now stands at 6'2". I get whiplash trying to look up at him.

I had so many hopes and dreams for him the day he was born, so far they have all come true. He is such a country boy, so handsome, so smart, such a great person, always has a smile on his face, sensitive, considerate, caring, very aware of the feelings of others, and just a joy to be around.





Happy Birthday Ethan Michael!