Happy Birthday

This week-end is a very special time for our family.  We have two grandchildren, in two states, turning three.  It still amazes me that these two were born so close together.  My son's third son was born at about 1 pm on May 14th.  My daughters second daughter was born at 8 am on May 15th.  For the past three years it has been like having twins, only far apart.  Each phone call has been full of comparisons on which one is doing what and who has mastered the next phase of growing up.  The little boy walked first and hasn't quit moving since.  The little girl crawled forever.  She spent so much time on her hands and knees that she had calluses on her knees.  She didn't walk but she crawled at warp speed.

The little girl talked early with delightful little phrases, mostly at the top of her lungs.  The little boy took his time.  For the longest time we would look helplessly at the older boys to tell us what he was saying.  Not surprisingly they seemed to understand what to us was total gibberish.  However, once he got the hang of talking he is a constant babbling brook.  Cheerful and impudent, he fills every waking hour with questions and comments. 

Both of them are outgoing and never meet a stranger but the little boy is the one that runs to greet us with total abandonment.  The little girl has always been unusually loud.  They even had her hearing tested but she checked out just fine.  She's another little red-head and I suspect she just wanted the world to know that she was around.  It wasn't uncommon for her to lean out of her stroller and call out to people passing by.  Most would be captivated by the cheerful little redhead and return her greeting.  Those that didn't would get a look of total disbelief.

The little boy is just like his dad was in that he just can't be bothered by rules.  Especially rules concerning staying in one place.  He has no fear with wandering off into a crowd to follow his own interests. It completely amazes him when we come frantically hunting him. It especially a challenge to take him to the massive Farm Machinery Show in Louisville.  He is fascinated by tractors and can't wait to climb on each and every one (again just like his daddy).  His obsession with seeing every tractor usually means that one of us is permanently assigned to stay one step behind him all day.  Trust me that's a busy day.

All in all these two imps have been a delight and constant entertainment.

Happy third birthday!