Happy Birthday. Wix!

May 11, 1996

I have 3 childebeasts...and had my labor induced all 3 times. That information, combined with the other tidbits you've already gathered about me and my...um...serial punctuality...makes this post totally apropos.

May 11th is a busy day in my realm of reality. My middle 'beast's birthday is the 11th. My mom's birthday is the 11th. When I was married, my mother-outlaw's birthday was May 11th. (Probably still is.) And Mother's Day falls on May 11th every few years. Crazy times, even for Queen Less than Normal. (Me.)

My little baby boys...who are no longer little or babies anymore!

I recovered enough from my pity party to get online for a few minutes Monday - with the full intention of posting this on the correct day...but couldn't find the right pictures. Since my computer crashed two days ago, I've had to find alternative ways to do everything. So it took me three hours to figure out how to save my scans...and another 45 minutes to figure out how to open Gimp. Oy! My middle son, Wixster (who, oddly enough still allows me to call him that) - who has always been my sweet, sensitive, kind, caring, funny little guy, isn't my little guy anymore. Then again, he isn't very sweet, sensitive, kind, or caring anymore, either. He is still funny, though.

Wixster's first birthday.

Originally due on the oldest 'beasts birthday - which is ten days later - until recently, he's always been my easiest kiddo. We've always told him he should be a stand up comic - because he's so funny. He just looks at the world in a skewed way - always has.

Wix found some mailing labels sent to me from Easter Seals when he was about 18 mos -
and covered himself in them.

He is friends with everyone, tries to make others happy, and is a mean video game player. (Maybe that has something to do with him spending every spare second on video games??) He talks in his sleep...so I know he even plays video games in his sleep. Since he is also a true lover of animals (which is why we have so many...thanks, Wix), he changes his mind hourly on whether he will be a veterinarian or a video game programmer when he grows up.

Around 16 months

He's the only kid I have who will put himself to bed when he's tired. It doesn't matter what is going on or what we're doing, when he's had enough he quietly brushes his teeth and goes to bed. When he was younger I'd have to check on him after he fell asleep - he was constantly sneaking out of bed to grab every pet we had, and put them in bed with him. That is totally fine with the cats - not so much with the turtle or hermit crabs. Wix - and the anecdote I just mentioned - are the sole reasons we no longer have an ant farm. I think it took a full day for all the ants to crawl off his bedding after the ant farm broke...but significantly less time for a freaked out mother wielding a vacuum cleaner at 2 am, to get the ants out of my bed.

(Thanks for telling me it broke when you climbed into bed with me that night...it was a true pleasure to wake back up, a few minutes after your arrival, wondering why I felt like creepy-crawlies were all over me. A true gift to flip on the light...and find both of us covered in ants. It's been 8-9 years since that happened...and I still haven't forgotten that little incident. Oh - and this is only one of the reasons I'm saving pictures of you in the bathtub...you never know when a future girlfriend and I will be sitting around, talking - and those pictures may make an appearance.)

What it's like to try to talk to him now

He's no longer my little baby, much as I wish he was. He's grown 4 inches since Christmas...which means I now look up at him when I talk to him. Since I'm 5'11", I figure the sky is the limit as far as just how tall he'll end up.

Such a family resemblance

This now-13-year-old is changing quickly. He's not as "buff" as his older brother, but he's just as physical. Into basketball, wrestling, and (as of last night) wanting to play football for the high school he'll go to in a year, he's highly competitive. As long as these activities don't interfere with his video game playing.

A total pool shark minnow

It's never dull being his mom. Never. I noticed just how grown up he's becoming while he was eating his chosen birthday dinner of sushi...and I was trying not to gag. He's adventurous and has the funniest laugh in the universe. He chose an electric guitar and amp as his birthday present...and is trying to put a band together - even though he's only had one lesson at this point.

(I think the Jonas Brothers - who Wix can't stand - has something to do with the lure of the guitar.
Or maybe it's the lure of the girls to the guitar!)

My handsome now 13 year old

Happy birthday, sweet Wix. (Even if you hate it when I make you stand still long enough to take your picture!) I hope his wonderful spirit never changes...he's the only one I'm pretty sure will visit me in the asylum home.