2016 is a Milestone year

Not long ago, it dawned on me what a special year 2016 was going to be. In January, our middle child turns 18 (yesterday!!). In May, our baby, turns 16 (and that will give her a lot of freedom!!). In August, our firstborn will be 21 (and will be able to drink…legally! haha!). In September, Michael and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary! And finally in December, my parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary! So you can certainly expect us to party, party, party this year – not like it’s 1999, but like it’s 2016!

Yesterday was the first milestone of this banner year. Our sweet middle child turned 18. I’ve been very nostalgic the past few days as I flipped through the photo albums looking at pictures of this adorable child. Wanna see??  Timothy’s first birthday was cowboy themed. As a cautious young mom, I did not allow Timothy to have ANY sugar before his first birthday. Here, he’s gingerly tasting his cake. He very quickly learned that sugar is yummy! As a baby, whenever I would feed him something new, he would spit it out and look at it before eating it. I’m happy to report he no longer does that. In fact, he’s turned into quite the adventurous eater,  who is willing to try new foods!  Although Timothy loves the beach and the water, he was a cautious swimmer, not liking to get his face wet, despite several rounds of swim lessons. He has (mostly) gotten over this quirky behavior. Mostly.  Timothy has always been good with his hands. He loved to do puzzles, build with Legos, make domino trains and make designs with geometric shapes. He’s going to be a talented engineer! On this trip to Disney, we lost Timothy as we were deciding where to eat. Thankfully his uncle found him. That experience has not traumatized him to Disney however. He has been there three times already this year!  His smile is infectious but sometimes he can be serious, reflective, pensive. He loves his cousins very much and is very close to them. Growing up his bestest buddy was his big brother. He ADORED him!! They were  good pals. Tommy was the ringleader and Timothy would go along with whatever Tommy came up with.  They played cowboys…  And pirates… And navy men… And working men…

When Annie was born, Timothy was her special guardian. Whenever she would cry, he would come running from wherever he was yelling, “Here I am! Here I am!” He was very protective of her.   Meeting Annie for the first time…  Notice the protective hand… Always careful…  Watchful…  This is a favorite picture of mine!!!  Happy birthday sweetie!! I love you so much!!