I've had the best job in the world for 11 years!

Dear Keeper Boy -

Eleven years ago today, Daddy and I went to the hospital. I waddled my way into a Labor, Delivery, Recovery room; had a relatively short (induced) labor; and gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy ever. You.

We went to the hospital unsure of whether we'd be coming home with a little boy or a little girl. We knew you were ALL boy when the first thing you did upon exiting the cozy comfort of the womb was pee all over my doctor. Nice.

You were so long!! That hasn't ever really changed. Today you are less than six inches from being as tall as me. I'll be lucky if you aren't taller than me by the time you leave elementary school at the end of the next school year! Anyway, you were a beautiful, long, blue-eyed baby with ten fingers and ten toes and more blonde hair than I'd ever seen on a newborn (until your brother was born... but his hair was darker).

We brought you home and I began the trial and error process of learning how to be a mommy. Sure, a lot of things fell under the philosophy of "just do it." Maybe I didn't do them perfectly, but I did them at least somewhat naturally. Some things didn't come so naturally and took longer. I contend to this day that Daddy was way more comfortable around you as a newborn than I was. But we all learned together, and I think we did a pretty good job. :)

Very early on, you developed a deep and encompassing knowledge of and love for hockey. Other sports soon followed. But you remain the only three-year-old I've ever known who could correctly pronounce the entire Washington Capitals roster, and provide most of the players' jersey numbers. You started skating when you were three and playing hockey when you were four. You made the jump to goalie when you were six or seven, and haven't looked back. (Well, you have looked back once or twice... and we responded by reminding you how much we paid for your goalie gear.) Outside hockey, you play baseball in the spring and soccer at recess, and you love to watch pretty much any sport on TV.

You also developed a love of reading at a very young age. You were reading chapter books by the time you entered Kindergarten. Earlier this year you finished reading the last of the books in the Harry Potter series. I love that YOUR love of reading has never dwindled. I hope that you carry it into adulthood and never stop! If you never stop reading, you'll never stop learning.

The years have flown by. You are now a big brother. And a pretty good one at that. You have matured into an intelligent, funny, amazing young person. At the same time, you can be infuriating, antagonistic, and amazingly immature. As time marches on, however, it seems the scales are tipping much more to the former rather than the latter. Your ADHD medication helps. :-) There are times when I think I am getting a glimpse of what will be the teenage you, and perhaps even the man. Most of the time, I like what I see.

I know the days that you will want to spend all your free time with Daddy and me are limited. We go through phases when those days are already fading. And I know that sometimes you and I get along about as well as fire and ice. I imagine those times will, unfortunately, get more frequent as you move into the middle school and high school years. So I try to treasure every hug and every "I love you." I know I don't always do a very good job of that. But I hope you know that no matter what--even when I am beyond frustrated--I always love you.

Thank you for giving me the most amazing, frustrating, rewarding, tiring, and fun job I've ever had: Mom.

Happy birthday, Keeper Boy. I love you!