When I was in college I had a very dear friend named Sara. Sara and I laughed at all the same things, liked to stay up late, and just had the best time as roommates, even when I threw dirty laundry at her to get her to shut off her blaring alarm.

One thing I remember about Sara is that she always cried on her birthday. To Sara nothing was better than being 17 and every birthday after just meant she was that much further from what she considered to be the prime of her life.

And I never understood that because I LOVED birthdays.

But I do now. Because now it's my kids that are growing up. Each of their birthdays is one more year that they aren't a baby anymore. One year closer to becoming a teenager and another year removed from being held in my arms. Birthdays are bittersweet for me now.

March is a big month in the Rose home as we have two birthdays a week apart.

Jackson turned 6. Every time I buy him a new pair of pants (which is OFTEN since he is particularly skilled at hole-ing jeans) I look at them and think there is no way that my little Jackson can fit into these much too large pair of pants. But he always does.

He is 6 years old.

Right now his favorite things are Star Wars, Legos, Spiderman, Math (yes one of my children loves math) reading and riding his bike. He loves playing games with "mom and dad" and has a knack for eye rolling. He has now reached the stage where he is a legitimate helper around here.

One week later Davis turned one. When Davis wakes up each day everyone's eyes light up. His reddish hair is always sticking up in the back and he has a huge grin. He laughs at everything and loves to chase his brothers around the house. When he was born I did not imagine that his first birthday would be in a completely different state, but even with so many changes, he has just been a joy. Every night when I put him to bed he waves bye bye to me with a smile just before cuddling up with his blanket and sticking his thumb in his mouth. Thank my lucky stars for that thumb!


Davis loves to knock over block towers, empty the tupperware drawer, and throw my kitchen aid attachments in the garbage. He loves singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and Baby Bumblebee. He's learned to flush toilets and just today crawled out the garage door, down the steps and out onto the pavement before I caught him. He also loves to cuddle and is finally sleeping through the night.

Here's to another year of growing up. Another year of holey jeans. Another year of messy faces. Another year of trying to be happy to watch my boys grow up even though sometimes I just want to cry.

Sara knows what I mean.