Birthday Photos from the Stash

Today is Our Middle Son's birthday - fifteen years ago, right about now, I was begging the triage nurse to NOT send me home. Thought I'd post some photos from the found photo stash, with a little narration, what else?

All my babies had such pitiful baby acne. And they were jaundiced, too. That's not the golden evening sun kissing his little bald head. He's only a few days old in this photo.

And there's my other best friend from those days --- The Pacifier!

Totally different from The First, Our Second had to be tightly buckled into the high chair. In this photo, Danger Child is about to slide down, and down further, until only his fingertips are hanging on to the tray - one of his favorite tricks. No crying, of course, only his eager anticipation of my total freak out upon finding him this way.

Do you see the pattern here? That look of gleeful mischief? It's why he's in the playpen - because the rest of us were trying to decorate the Christmas tree. This was the year that all of the balls on the bottom half of the tree had to be plastic. Since glass balls fly across the room so well. And shatter in such a spectacular manner.

Here is the birth of an extreme case of 'Santa Fear' - right here, folks!

Was it the beard that caused it? The sort of sinister nose sticking out there? Hmmm... We only know that this is the one and only photo of Middle Child (not shrieking) and Santa.

Middle Child got all the way into his first birthday cake and was eager to share some, too.

Tonight, he's asked for chocolate peanut butter pie. And he's going to get it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WONDERFUL MIDDLE SON!

Photo Stash - Firstborn

More photos from the found photo stash. These are of My Oldest, better known as Trial-and-Error Son. Not his trials and errors, but ours perpetrated on him as our firstborn. My largest offering of sympathy for all firstborns out there.

And to mine, since he is still living the life as our firstborn. (1 Cor. 10:13)

What a serious face he has! Always had and still has. Once a neighbor who had come from the across the street to play with our chubby baby confessed to us, "We ask each other, 'What must be wrong with this baby that he never smiles?' " Nice confidence booster for the new parents - yeah, thanks. Here he is in his long johns and indian gear - and I think it's an appropriately menacing face.

Watch out or I'll nail ya with this nerf-tip arrow!

There! Looking delighted (take that, opinionated neighbor!) at his third birthday party. We're wondering why we bought presents for him when all he seemed to love were these worm-shaped balloons. Somehow all our boys happily wore those pointy birthday party hats well into their older years. Until adolescence set in --- how painful to wear a pointy party hat at twelve years old.

This photo was taken on his first big fishing trip - which happened to occur just when the new Middle Son arrived home from the hospital. A little distraction from life's big 'adjustments' never hurts, yes? They're fishing at a favorite uncle's house. The landscape around that lovely lake is completely changed now - surrounded by subdivision housing.

Footie pajamas and powdered donuts - does life get any better? It had to be a special occasion of some sort, since powdered donuts do NOT just trot through here on any ordinary day. Maybe a zoo day? This was his response to, "Make your funniest face!"

Way back in our first house when he was the only child, Our Boy used to climb up on the sink to watch, fascinated, as his dad shaved around the edges of his beard. Sometimes, he would get to put shaving cream on his own soft, soft cheeks - then 'shave' it off with the back of a comb. On this occasion, though, he gained an eyeliner mustache, delighted to look just like his dad.

Now this little guy is tooling around in a sleek, red car. He's got a McDonald's visor and is preparing food for the general population. He is visiting with friends, and girls, that we have never seen or approved of. Not that we might not approve, of course, but there are no play date decisions for us to make anymore.

Keep your eyes open wide, Sisters in the Motherhood - your Boys are fast growing into Men! Enjoy them and your station in life - make memories to savor later. Memories that get sweeter as time passes by.

Photo Stash Finds

I found a photo stash - it's kinda like finding a wad of forgotten money the pocket of your favorite jeans. We used to keep lots of photo frames around the house, ironically, when the kids were small. Now there are very few in the house. Over the years, as the frames made their way into the Goodwill box, I'd take out the compiled photos, which were just stacked under the frame glass, new on top of old, and stash them - Someplace Safe. Which is a mistake I've continued to make my entire life resulting in the permanent loss of multiple library books, important documents and wedding day earrings.

BUT it was wonderful to see these special photos that have been missing for so long! Thought I'd share some with you all:

We have a long history of fun photos taken inside those pull-curtain booths. This booth shot was taken in Pigeon Forge, TN, in one of those cheap midway/arcade/go-cart areas. I'm newly pregnant here, but it was still a secret. That's my very first maternity shirt, which I couldn't wait to wear --- even though I was only three months pregnant and not really showing at all. How exciting it was to put on the clothes that made the whole parenting adventure even more real, since finally I had an appropriate costume. Maternity clothes were just never, ever that much fun again.

Here's a photo of my mother- and father-in-law holding Our Middle Son on his church dedication morning. Check that expression on Dad's face - he looks like that baby might be exploding any second. Like he's holding a fully loaded, trigger-haired flame thrower. And yes, he was wise, because that's almost exactly what our Second was (is?) like. Even though he looks placid enough in this photo, you never knew when he might twist and leap out of your arms.

This is truly one of my favorites! It's Our First, not even two years old. He's standing at the door of the kitchen, barred by a kitchen-chair-turned-into-a-baby-gate. That expression was his and his alone - it's his supreme joy face.

If only I could kiss those fat baby cheeks one more time!

Taken with our old Minolta manual, this was before I was able to computer crop. That's why the ladder is still visible in the background reminding me of the painting job I had been working on, and proving that this photo was snapped just before we sold that, our first, house. Sometimes I think I now crop out background details that would be happy reminders later. I'm 'crop-hasty'.

More photo-stash finds later!