Happy Happy Birthday Baby

This morning Emerson climbed into bed with me and I whispered, "Happy Birthday - today you are four!" He looked suspicious. "It's not birthday time, it's Christmas time." I tried to explain that it was both his birthday AND Christmas time, but I think he was concerned about missing out on the whole Santa bringing presents thing.

Eventually we got him his favorite breakfast - pancakes at a local Coney - then he got to open a few presents and hear several sweet renditions of the Birthday Song on the phone from relatives and friends. By the end of the day, the reality of his birthday had fully sunk in and the conversation turned to cake. Since we already did a half birthday party complete with cake and candles this past summer, we kept it simple and stuck a single candle in a chocolate cupcake. He helped us sing the song while Fionn watched with a huge grin plastered on his face. (I can't tell if he was just so happy for his big brother, or if he has learned that singing Happy Birthday to anyone is always followed by eating cake.) Emerson announced "I LOVE this cake," ate off all the frosting, and then decided that he was ready for bed.

If you ask him how old he is, he laughs hysterically and says "2." I insist that he's four in public because hauling around two little kids with a giant pregnant belly leads to a lot of raised eyebrows and thinly-veiled disgust as complete strangers constantly ask me, "How far apart are they all?" I've been telling people I have a four and two year old for the past 6 months, so the actual transition to four years old hasn't been a huge leap. But on some level I just can't comprehend that I actually have a four-year-old, so maybe it just hasn't hit me yet.

In any case, his birth seems like a lifetime ago. Here is a gratuitous repost of his birth story, and a few pictures.

It's hard to believe I'm willingly doing it all over again in another month!


40 weeks pregnant. This seemed so big and painful at the time. I look exactly the same at 34 weeks pregnant now.


One of two birthday cakes that the hospital staff gave me while I was in labor on my birthday. It was so sweet - but it's true that hospital food is horrible.


Robbie helping me through a back contraction. I know it looks kinky. Trust me, it wasn't.


His big debut