Happy Birthday, Erik!

Today's is Erik's official birthday, even though we don't celebrate it until tomorrow. Brian's brother Brad, Brad's wife Dawnita, and their sons Brayden and Brogan arrive this afternoon and will stay here this weekend. I will spend today grocery shopping and getting things ready. Brian is going to steal away and play a couple hours of flag football after he is through with his "honeydo" list, too. Tomorrow the rest of both of our families will come to celebrate with us.

As for Erik, he continues to cry when we install his braces, which we have to do two or three times a day. We take them off before he sleeps. I sent an e-mail to his orthotist with the photo of Erik on his excavator thanking him for his support and professional care during this challenging time. He wrote me back and said it is an honor taking part in Erik's care and that he got "misty eyed" when he saw the photo. He explained that orthotics help children gain confidence in how they explore the world, and this opens doors for them. It sounds undeniably cheesy, I suppose, but I can already see it proving true. I believe Erik will eventually grow used to having these devices put on his legs and stop crying. In the meantime, we make complete jackasses of ourselves singing opera and showtunes for his amusement. We all love that boy so much.

Erik ate the soup I made last night with gusto, including the beans, chicken, and tomatoes. He even liked saying "soup." He is not normally a huge fan of my dinners. I worry a bit about the rampant sweet tooth he seems to have inherited. One of his favorite words is "cookie," but we don't even have cookies in the house normally. I call graham crackers "cookies." Maybe I should start calling broccoli "cookies."

Thanks for the birthday wishes and support for Erik, as always. It is hard to believe my little bundle of joy is 2. Looking back on these years, it is amazing how much has changed in all of our lives in 24 months. I look at Erik sometimes and think about how neither of us signed up for this, but at least we have each other. The video of his first birthday features him in his high chair eating a cupcake, shaky and slow (although he ate the entire thing). It almost appears as if he was moving around underwater. At that time, we had no idea what was wrong, but worry was starting to sink in, at least for me. His second birthday comes seven months after the W bomb was dropped, and that knowledge, although upsetting, has allowed us to deal with things appropriately and has eased much of the heavy blanket of the unknown we had on our shoulders back then. I am not a woman who likes to be kept in the dark. There are more balloons this year, deliciously dorky, hand-crafted construction paper decorations, a wonderful cake by Boppa and Gramma, and simply more HAPPY in Erik's birthday. I'll post a full report of the party next week.

The following is a song I used for a computer slideshow I did of the first few days Erik was in this world. It makes me cry every single time and only seems more appropriate this year knowing what I know about my son. Happy birthday, Skooby. I love you.

“In Your Time”
by Bob Seger for his son Cole

In your time
The innocence will fall away
In your time
The mission bells will toll
All along
The corridors and river beds
There’ll be sign
In your time

Towering waves
Will crash across your southern capes
Massive storms
Will reach your eastern shores
Fields of green
Will tumble through your summer days
By design
In your time

Feel the wind
And set yourself the bolder course
Keep your heart
As open as a shrine
You’ll sail the perfect line

And after all
The dead ends and the lessons learned
After all
The stars have turned to stone
There’ll be peace
Across the great unbroken void
All benign
In your time

You’ll be fine
In your time