Happy Birthday Ethan

 

Happy Birthday Ethan!

He turned 8 this year.  It is a big birthday for him.  He planned and helped carry out his Pokemon birthday party complete with a homemade pinata.  It was a lot of fun.  We look forward to his baptism in a couple of weeks.  He has grown up a lot this last year.  As I looked at pictures of him from his last birthday, I realized how much bigger he really is.  His maturity has increased as well.  He is such an easy boy to love...so kind and thoughtful.  He always says please and thank you and gives me hugs.  Because he is well behaved, he gets lost in the mix of our family dynamic from time to time.  Katelyn doesn't let herself be forgotten and Lincoln is to full of life to let him out of our sights for too long.  Ethan tempers both Katelyn and Lincoln is different ways.  It is very interesting to watch him and he interacts with them.  He is so needed and loved in our family.  I am so grateful to be his mom.

On a personal note, his birthday seemed a lot further away from Eli's birthday last year.  Their birthdays are only 4 days apart, but it seemed a lot longer last year.  It is due in part to the fact that  everyday was such a gift last year.  4 days was a long time last year.  We had hoped and hoped that Eli would be born after Ethan's birthday and to get 4 days more was such a blessing for us.  We celebrated Ethan's birthday on Saturday and then waited until Wednesday to meet Eli.  This year it has felt that their birthday's are almost on top of one another.  There is no one else that I would rather have Eli's birthday be next to.

  Despite that, planning a Pokemon party and a birthday for my sweet Eli, who is in heaven, in the same week is a little strange.  I have never had to think about what a birthday for my child who isn't here would be like (and it isn't themed the same as Pokemon).  But after witnessing the fun that Ethan had today I understood that is was because his party was age appropriate...games, candy, cake, pinata....Eli's birthday will also be age appropriate and I don't mean that I am planning a party for a 1 year old.  I look forward Eli's birthday as a sweet and memorable day.  The 5th of November was such a beautiful and sacred day...hard, yes, but not bad...not something I dread thinking about or remembering.  It is a day that I treasure more than I can explain.  It will be a sweet celebration of Eli's life and the influence he has had and will continue to have in many lives.