Brendan is 5.

You read that correctly. My son is 5 years old today. The son I used to blog about as a tiny baby and crazy toddler. I think I'm in shock. I pulled up this old blog lastnight and was completely overwhelmed with the memories that came flooding back to me. What a treasure this blog is. I cannot believe I used to have the time to write in this thing, but am so glad I chose to do so. The stories in this blog are stories that my kids will read years from now. Even if I started out strong when I had all the time in the world to write, and now I barely have the time to shower...I am so thankful for what I do have here. So it looks as if my last post was from 2010. Fo realz? I can't believe it. 2011 must have been a damn good year. We took 2 summer vacations, one to Emerald Isle and another to Idaho. Although it was just a Mommy and Son to trip to Idaho. We will all go as a family this year. B and I were lucky enough to miss Hurrican Irene and get out of dodge before it struck the northeast. Poor Daddy and Ryan were without power (and TV!) for days while Brendan and I enjoyed the God's Country out in the great northwest. But it was for the best. Ryan was still too little to travel and it was wonderful to spend some alone time with Brendan. Something I don't get much of anymore. So the kids are growing like weeds. Brendan is into trucks, cars, and anything construction or landscaping (still!) and Ryan is a typical girly girl. Loves to push her stroller around with an animal or dolly buckled up inside. Her hair is incredible. Curls Ga-LORE. I can't take her anywhere without someone literally stopping me to comment on the girl's hair. She's beautiful, sweet, funny, so incredibly smart, and so affectionate. She's polite, rarely throws tantrums (yet?) and is just so happy. She has a love for food most parents would kill for. I mean good food. Fruits, veggies, meats, dairy. She eats it all, while parents are pureeing broccoli and pouring it into muffins as some sort of clever disuise. I don't have to do that, proudly enough. My precious daughter is everything I ever imagined and more. I couldn't imagine life without her. ( I should be saying "we." Husband loves her a lot too. :) So....Brendan is 5. 5 years ago at this very moment I was snuggling in a hospital bed with a lumpy, warm little newborn. I will never forget those moments with him. I just stared at him. Every move was like watching an intense basketball game. "Oh! He yawned! Oh! He stretched! Oh! He blinked! Oh! He pooped! He shoots! He scores!" I just gazed at him. I remember thinking, this can't be real. He's not mine. What did I do to deserve this kind of pure happiness? And if someone had warned me how much stress comes with raising boys, I may have just left him behind at that hospital and ran for my life. Kidding. Kind of. :) Brendan is my toughie. Ryan is supposedly in her terrible 2's but I wouldn't even know it, because truth be told, I am always dealing with the Brendan drama. I think that's the way he prefers it. The more drama he creates, the less I am paying attention to Ryan. Whatever the case, he can be a huge giant pain in the ass and I just want to throw my hands up in the air sometimes and say "I give up, Lord! I cannot pass this test!" But then, looking back....wow. My life has been incredible with these 2 kids in it. So incredible, that I have no time to blog anymore. :) Or at least that's my excuse because surely I am not lazy! I am quite happy to say that we are so busy soaking up life that even if I only get little spurts of time to write, I am okay with that. My memory and my kids memories will have all kinds of stories to hold, not just this blog. Anyway, since I did manage to find some time to write, let me say this: Brendan turned 5 years old today and I feel like his life has just gone by in a flash. I used to want to smack the people who'd say "don't blink, or you'll miss it." They were so right. Happy 5th Birthday, Brendan. We love you more than words can ever say.