Snuggle Bunny is 18!

Middle Son is 18 today!  Looking back, it's so hard to believe that he's all grown up.  Well, mostly.  He was 2 weeks late coming into the world.  I just knew I was going to have him before my birthday (29 March) because I was not going to be 30 and having a baby!  Yes, I know he is the middle son; and yes, God has a great sense of humor!  My birthday came, but I didn't panic...he had until 3:00 p.m. to make his entrance because I was born around that time, so technically I wouldn't be 30 until then.  And, my birthday went.  Full moon came, full moon went.  New moon came, new moon went.  And still no baby. So, the decision was made to induce.  My in-laws came up to take care of OS.  8 April 1992.  I spent the whole day hooked up to pitocin.  People came, people went, babies were born.  Around 6:00, they asked if I wanted to go home.  I didn't think there was any sense in me laying around just waiting, so off we went.  I thought once they took me off of the drip, the contractions would go away.  A couple of hours later, we went back to the hospital.  I was only dilated 3 centimeters.  Bummer.  They gave me some demoral, and told me to go home and not come back until I was doubled over.  I went home and slept until I woke up, ran to the bathroom, and lost what I had eaten the day before.  Luckily one of my sisters had gotten sick with her oldest one, so I knew what was going on.  My husband and I talked for a few minutes about whether or not we should go back to the hospital.  On the way, I told my husband that if they told me I was still just 3 cm, I was going to tell them to cut me open 'cause I wanted that baby out!  Turns out he was crowning, no time for an epidural, so I had all 9 pounds, 1 ounce of him natural.  And so begins the adventure that is MS' life.

After going through two sets of tubes in his ears and an adenoidectomy, we had a couple of big scares.  The first one was when he was 3 years old.  The dr. thought he had meningitis...the deadly kind.  Turns out he had Henoch-Schonlein Purpura, and apparently it was caught early; he didn't have any after effects from it.  You know, there is no feeling as helpless as hearing your baby screaming for you as the hospital staff is holding him down, about to stick a big needle in his back.  Thinking about it still makes me cry.

The next scare was when he was 6.  He had to see a pediatric oncologist because he had a tonsil that had been enlarged for months.  The oncologist took one look at him and said that it wasn't it.  MS did have to have his tonsils taken out.  The ENT came to me after and said that his tonsil wasn't enlarged, it was inverted.  Weird.  Then again, he did have the chicken pox twice.  We've only had bumps, scrapes, and bruises since then.

He has always been a mess.  He would go and go and go until he just couldn't go anymore.  I have a picture (which some day I will scan those old pictures in!) of  him on Christmas Day in the middle of the hallway, fast asleep.  When I wanted him to take a nap, I would have to lay down beside him and let him play with my hair.  Of course, the trick was for me to stay awake until he fell asleep!  If that didn't happen, I was asking for trouble!  He would gather my hair at the top of my head and say, "Just like a princess!"  Right after YS was born, he was suppose to be taking a nap.  I get a call from a neighbor down the street, and he says that we have a streaker up here.  I had fallen asleep, and YS was in his swing.  I figured MS had his pull-up on, but when I went across the street (where my neighbor was having a Mary Kay open house), all he had on were his water shoes.  I think OS was a bit embarrassed.  I've got a million of these stories, but I'll have to pace myself!

When he was around 9, he played football.  During a game, he drop-kicked this kid because he was talking about his mama.  If you don't know what a drop-kick is, check out this video.  The clip around :42 may be offensive, so you may want to pause it, let it download, then move the button over to 1:36.



I don't think he said, "I love my mama very much...now you know that", but he and the other boy did get kicked out of the game.  MS thought his coach had just taken him out of the game for a rest!  MS played football all four years of high school; the first 2 years he played tennis in the spring, then switched over to soccer for his junior &  senior years.  However, he never drop-kicked anyone else.

I love the young man MS has turned into.  There were times when I thought he wasn't going to have a conscience and wasn't going to ever calm down.  His 5th grade teacher said that she had a rough time trying to keep up with him and coming up with things to keep him busy.  MS has a great sense of humor; he makes me laugh, even when he doesn't mean to or doesn't want me to.  He is a loyal friend and a good listener.  He always has a good time, and makes friends fast.  He has a heart as big as Texas.  He never cried much, but when he did, they were these big crocodile tears that would melt my heart.  I tell all of my boys that they are my favorite (and they believe it).  Today, MS, you are my favorite!

Make a free slideshow design Thanks going out to Joyce at From This Side of  the Pond for the Smilebox idea.  I tried to get a slideshow in the post using photobucket but wasn't able to get it to cooperate!  And, yes, I'm cheap...I didn't put out the money to add music, so sing along to your favorite song while you watch the show!