And a thousand reasons more

Today is my son's birthday.

Just about 3:43 is when his biiiig giant head popped out (he broke his collar bone on the way out).

He doesn't read this, but I can tell you, I love having a son. He hasn't grown up enough yet to be a stupid man. (Sorry, guys.) Someone said to me once, "you will never love any other male as much as you love your son(s)" and she was right.

He tells me I'm pretty, and comes over to hug me when something is amiss. He throws himself into sports - golfing and basketball and baseball. The other day he wrote up a training schedule for himself (situps, pushups, running or biking, and lifting weights to build up his biceps/ triceps). He looks like a tall skinny basketball player but somehow has "football" as a goal right now. Ummmmmm.....

He loves the wii, and is also picking up on all of my hobbies like taking photos (we got him a camera). He is learning to cook. (cough cough can already cook more than his dad cough cough) He's being very patient about the stalled Yankee stadium mural, and he wants to help. (He still has an idea about putting a disco ball out on our porch; I will have to deal with that some day.) He got me (ME !) to try fishing. He went kayaking with me. He's FUN.

He went with me to the farms, and the cheesemaking class, and was able to be in the moment and converse with the adults around him and enjoy those things that some kids his age would find very, very dumb. I'm building a renaissance man.

I don't mind his smelly bed that looks like Taz slept in it (how DOES he rip it apart every night) or that he never picks up his clothes. He does laundry! He folds and folds and folds that huge rolling ball of clothing like in the tv commercial. Speaking of Taz, he prefers vintage cartoons. And he wants a dog. So, so much. (not happening any time soon). He's dying for a cellphone and someone recently gave him one that was off contract (replaced by an iphone) and he was deliriously happy. Until the battery died.

I could go on and on....but seriously, it's the hugs.