10!

Jacob just turned the big 1-0. He was nearly insane with excitement in the days weeks months leading up to the big day. And I do not think the day disappointed. He spent the morning at a state park with his cousin; spent the afternoon bowling with friends (and then battling them with a cornucopia full of Nerf weapons); and then had a "flat round food" party* (pizza and a cookie cake) with family and frinds. *He is 10 now so it seemed like the right time to dispense with a party "theme," but I found the lack of a theme to be oddly disconcerting, so I seized on the flat round food and mentally made that my own secret theme, although I didn't communicate it to anyone else.

At the end of the day I told him about how I'd never forget about the time a few hours after he was born, when he was in the nursery and I started sobbing uncontrollably because I missed him so much. So David helped me hobble down the hallway to the nursery, sniffling the whole while (me, not David) until I could finally retrieve my baby and take him back to the room with me. David and I both remember how easy it was for us to spot Jacob in the room -- up until that point I thought that all newborns looked the same, but once I had one I realized that your own newborn looks totally different, go figure! I told Jacob that story to illustrate to him how immediately and completely we loved him {although I suspect the story also has sub-themes about post-partum hormones, etc.}.

In any event, it's ten years later and I still can't imagine life without him. Happy birthday Jacob!