Andrew is 14

Walking to school from our old house.  

Abbey’s 7th and Andrew’s 1rst.

Moving to our home.

I think this was Abbey’s First Communion celebration-I still have that little suit-he looked so cute in it.

Mom and Andrew trip to Chicago.

Andrew’s birthday is today~I feel like I skip birthday’s on this blog but it’s not intentional, it’s just an indication of other things going on.  This is such a busy time of year and we have 3 birthdays within 2 weeks-Andrew’s, Janey’s, and Abbey’s.  It takes a lot of organization as I want to give them each their due here in our home.

Things I want to remember about Andrew (I might have written this all before, but off the top of my head these are the things that stick out):

Andrew was the baby that was born to me after two devastating miscarriages.  Miscarriages that changed my life, in so many ways.  I learned to appreciate pregnancies, even those that were filled with sickness.  I learned to take nothing for granted.  I learned what mourning means, how to pull myself up from depression, how to look ahead and not behind and this took longer-how to not envy others for their good fortune when I felt I wasn’t having much good fortune myself.  I learned how to get through really tough ultrasounds where I’d be afraid of bad news again, and to say Hail Mary’s when I couldn’t feel him move (he was just sleeping after all.) 

He arrived red, crying, and with a ton of thick dark hair.  I was so so happy.  We all were.

He had all day colic.

I pushed myself more than I have ever pushed myself physically in my life -holding him all day and he’d sleep on me at night.

We grew very attached.

I learned I could do anything.

But it was hard, no lying, with three other kids to care for.

When he could move he was happy!

He was into everything.

He never stopped moving.

He was such a joy (and still is) as he grew.

He’d say the funniest things ever, and if we laughed he’d get mad and say, “Don’t laugh at me!”

He’d say “kiss and hug, kiss and hug” anytime I’d walk out the door without him.  It was a huge ritual, sometimes slowing me down, but who could resist that?

He was curious about everything and everyone, his confidence was obvious even as a little guy.

He enjoys interacting with people of all ages and all walks of life-down to infants, teens, up to the elderly. Everyone is his friend.

He hasn’t changed much.  He still has an air of confidence about him, and is up for a challenge. 

He still goes 100 mph, fills up his day with his own little schedule depending on the season.

He is an excellent student, hardly ever gets stressed about demanding school work, or the amount of work he has to do. He has always loved school, and always loved his friends.  He is independent (we always joke he can live on his own and be just fine-he really could) and makes great thoughtful decisions.

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!