” … Greenhorn couldn’t handle this,” is what I heard my OB say as he was attempting to deliver the six-day-late baby who kept “turtling” and would not emerge from my body.

“Who is Dr. Greenhorn?,” I kept thinking.

OK, OK, now I know he meant not a specific doctor, just an inexperienced one, and I think he was probably right, because it was kinda complicated pushing into the world that 10-pound, 9-ounce boy and his Superman-like placenta cape. But he arrived, he was healthy, and that was 11 years ago! Happy Birthday to my now 114-pound Joey!

Today, Danny is 8, and in honor of his birthday, I asked him a few questions, to which he responded while slouching on the couch watching a marathon River Monsters and gaming with a handheld something or other. Deep meaningful answers, I did not get. But that’s to be expected, I suppose. He’s 8.

How does it feel to be 8?

Uhhh, feels different. That’s all I have.

What do you hope to accomplish as an 8-year-old?

Go to a water park.

What do you think will be great about being 8?

That I can go on different rides because I’ll be taller.

And that’s all he spoke.

My first baby. He's 10 today. I am in awe.

May 30, 2003

He didn’t arrive into the world until 11:05 PM on May 30, but we’ve been celebrating the kid all weekend long, and we’re still hours away from that glorious moment seven years ago when Danny arrived in all of his whopping-big glory.

It started with a platter of cookies delivered to the boy’s first-grade class on Friday, followed by a road trip right after school pick-up to an Orlando hotel. Danny loved the Marriott Courtyard outdoor pool, and the yummy Carrabba’s dinner out we enjoyed that night, too. Bright and early the next day, we were at the gates of Magic Kingdom, where Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Buzz Lightyear were favorite rides, and the day spent walking (and walking and walking) wore us all out. We refueled, though, with some trail mix and a stop at the hotel, before heading for another great dinner (plus free birthday dessert), and a nighttime adventure back at the park.

AI's Aaron Kelly

We rode all the faves again, and ended the night at midnight, just after big bro Joe spotted and was photographed with American Idol’s Aaron Kelly.

Sunday brought more adventure — lunch with one grandma and a big gift (an iPod Shuffle for the guy who loves music), plus dinner and more gifts with another grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins.

“How do you feel about your birthday weekend?” I asked Danny at the end of his official special day. His response: “Good, terrific, awesome, fantastic!” Those are his sparkle words, he told me. Indeed, they are — the words he’s learned in class to spice up his writing.

I’m not sure I could have said it any better. The weekend was, in fact, good, terrific, awesome and fantastic. How fun it is to be the mom of a 7-year-old!

The birthday boy!

Happy Birthday, Danny.

I love you.

9th Birthday Wishes

It started out that we were going to take a small group of kids to the 34th Street Grafitti Wall for Joey’s 9th birthday party. It’s where University of Florida students and others in the Gainesville community go to express themselves by painting all sorts of messages — some happy and inspirational, some simply advertising free beer (hey, it’s a college town, what do you expect?). Here’s a peek at what you might see on a drive-by of this wall that borders the University golf course and is commonly known as the city’s “concrete blog.”

Rumor has it that it’s technically illegal to paint this wall, although I made a call to the local police department and learned that it’s not illegal — it’s just not safe. You see, 34th Street is a crazy busy place, and we’d have to paint at our own risk. So even though Joey desperately wanted to leave his mark on the wall, we just couldn’t justify putting a bunch of kiddos in danger. So we improvised and created our own backyard grafitti wall. John hung three big pieces of wood, painted them all with a dark background color, and today, Joey and his friends and family went to town.

35 Avenue Grafitti Wall

The crew painted their hearts out, and they went home with splattered hair, hands and clothing (smocks only do so much!). Before departing, though, they played a rousing game of Paint the Tail on the Donkey.

That's Joey's tail sprouting out of the donkey's neck.

And we did some face painting, and sack races.

Ready, Set, Go!

And of course, there were gifts, plus pizza and cake.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

And because our outdoor party temps were tops at about 55 degrees, a bonfire with s’mores was in order, too. Overall, it was a swinging good time, a perfect celebration for a boy who turns 9 tomorrow (that means another party, just a quiet family one, no paint involved).

Swing, Tori, Swing!