Today is his Birthday

Well, today my little boy, Casey, turned 4. He is all about John Deere tractors and 'heavy equipanent' (in Casey speak). This morning, when he woke up, I sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and he looked up and smiled and said, "today am I 4 in December?" I responded, "Yes, Baby, you are 4 in December!" He looked himself up and down and said, " I still little!"

This has been an ongoing source of much confusion for my son. He has been saying for several weeks that he does not want to get big, he wants to stay little. He thought because he was turning 4, he would automatically get 'bigger' in size. I think he was very much relieved when he woke up, was 4, and did not get 'bigger.'

It seems like just yesterday that I was in the hospital holding my little 11 pound baby in my arms shortly after giving birth via c-section. He has grown up to be a skinny little 43 inch tall 4 year old. He loves Wrangler blue jeans ("like my Daddy") and boots. As my mother-in-law predicted, I really don't remember life without Casey.

He was born on a cold, wet December afternoon. We knew from the first ultrasound that he was probably going to be a big baby. My OB did an ultrasound on Dec. 15 and the computer could not calculate the numbers to determine a weight. The doctor just told me that he would be on call that weekend if I went into labor or just decided it was time. I went back to the doctor on Monday, Dec. 20 and he told me he was surprised he did not see me over the weekend and we would induce on Tuesday. I called my husband, Kenneth, in tears and let him know he needed to be off the rest of the week.

We went to the hospital early Tuesday morning and I was admitted and given a room in the labor/delivery section. I was put on the drip to induce labor but 8 hours later, I had never had the first labor pain. The doc came in around 3 and said we would do a c-section in just a bit. I was prepped and given an epidural and at 4:31pm, James Casey was born!

So, Happy Birthday, my son! Mommy loves you best!