Happy Birthday to Nathan!
What a wonderful day we spent celebrating the 6th year of a miracle that was given to us on Oct 24th, 2006!
Nathan enjoyed his special day at school surrounded by friends and teachers that just adore him. No one can love him more then his family though! I left work early, headed over to his school and Nathan's classmates and I showered him with kind words, a birthday song and some yummy cupcakes. That evening at Nathan's request, we went to the Cheesecake Factory to indulge in some rich foods and conversation.
Nathan's birth history somehow came up and for the first time, Trevor and Jackson shared some of their memories about that time. Trevor was only 3 yrs old and Jackson was only 15 months old. As hard as it was to hear Trevor trying to put words together that appropriately expressed how he felt then, it was very interesting to hear what he remembers about that difficult time in all of our lives. He remembers Nathan being in the hospital the first time (when he was born and in the NICU), he remembers when Nathan had to be brought back to the hospital just a few weeks after we had just finally been able to bring him home since birth and he remembers the first time he got to hold Nathan. Jackson just kind of tandem Trevor's memories. :-)
I'm glad our kids feel comfortable talking about those years and those specific trying times. I'm really glad Nathan asks questions as they come to him. Usually the questions revolve around his scars.
At age 6 you're usually just barely figuring out what you're good at and your parents sign you up for just about anything because you're exploring your gifts and talents and your possible interests. Shoot, I'm still trying to figure that stuff out myself! Not for Nathan! This kid has talents that are so crystal clear to me and since day 1 has always been very unique. Nathan has such a passion for cooking, baking, acting, designing and his attention to minute detail is unreal! He thinks of extremely deep questions and thoughts that just blow my mind and often make me think twice, 3x or more before I can get an age appropriate answer for him.
I can't say these 6 years have flown by, but I can say that I very much have enjoyed watching Nathan grow into a healthy young boy. He has so much to offer in any friendship and it's an honor to be his mom. I am privileged and blessed to have such a delightful and important role in his life.
