July 9

Seven years ago today, I became a mother.

After 12 hours of labor, the doctor announced, "It's a BOY!" and I said, "Are you sure? I really thought it was a girl." But it really was a boy, and it was Caleb. He didn't wail the way most babies do; he let out a soft, gentle mew, like a kitten.

You would think that after seven years of having the full-time job of being his mama, I would know him inside out and understand him fully. But the older he gets, the more I realize that this sweet, gentle, loving boy of mine is a mystery. For his first few years, I felt like he was an extension of me, but I am daily realizing that he is his own person. I will never fully understand the intricacies of the way his mind works, but I sure am glad that I get to be his mama.

Last night, after Chris had tucked Caleb and Daisy in bed for the night, Caleb came back out, grumbling, "I'm trying to sleep, but Daisy won't let me. I really need to get a good night's sleep, because I have a BIG DAY tomorrow!"

Sweet boy.

But he did have a big day. Chris let me sleep in, and I woke up at 9:30 to see Chris and all four kids head out on a bike ride. I kicked myself for not grabbing my camera, because they were a sight to behold! Luckily, I had it ready when they returned.

Impressive, no?

Chris had Eli up front in the WeeRide seat, then Daisy attached to his bike on the tag-along, and then Lily attached to Daisy's bike in the trailer. If Caleb had chosen to ride the tag-along and Daisy had ridden in the trailer, then he could have single-handedly transported all four children!

Daisy was super-nervous about the tagalong the first time she tried it, but now she loves it. What a funny girl!

After a long bike ride, the kids had lunch and Lily and Eli went down for naps. Caleb and Daisy rested, in anticipation of their fun afternoon adventure: Chris took them to a local bounce place, where they played on inflatable obstacle courses and bounce houses and all kinds of stuff. It was a surprise, and they had so much fun!

Meanwhile, the little ones napped and I prepped for Caleb's birthday celebration at the neighborhood pool. My whole family (minus Ryan, who had to work) made it out, and Chris' mom joined us, too.

Last night, Caleb asked me to pray that it wouldn't rain today. God heard our prayers, and it was sunny and 90 degrees. Perfect.

Pink girl! Pink suit, pink tube, pink flippers. She was happy!

Caleb asked for a candy bar cake with a Lego mini-figure of Rey, from the new Star Wars movie. 

Hi, Jace! He and Lily turn three in just under two weeks!

This boy literally stopped what he was doing and cheesed when I took this picture. It was too funny!

Also funny: Jace in goggles.

Max and Caleb are both really capable swimmers, and it was so much fun to watch them splash and play with Grandpa.

The only problem with a shady pool: it gets chilly fast!

We had so much fun on the diving board, too. 

Don't you love Chris' form?

Gayle helped Eli practice his walking. He was walking everywhere tonight!

The lifeguards closed the deep end of the pool as a safety precaution because the water was getting cloudy. But after we delivered some cupcakes to them and Chris did some sweet-talking, they opened it up again. (Or maybe it was that the pool filter had some time to do its job. Whatever. I'll credit the cupcakes.)

Chris and Billy invented a game where they threw a Nerf football to a person diving off the board. It was so much fun!

Max looks like he's flying!

Look at Eli walk! He had that little tongue sticking out the whole time.

Chris caught the ball this time. It was awesome!

I even took a turn. I did not successfully catch the ball.

Caleb tried, too. He asked me to take a picture, but told me to delete the picture if he didn't catch it.

This is my favorite series of pictures from the evening: 

Gifts. They were almost all Lego and Star Wars related, and he was so happy.

Daisy was nearly as excited about Caleb's birthday as Caleb was.

To finish the evening, we had a Silly String fight. 

Grace sent Daisy two cans of Silly String for her birthday, and when his birthday rolled around, Caleb requested the same thing. Aunt Grace came through, and Caleb got a package yesterday containing, among other things, Legos and Silly String. 

I had bought a few cans, too, and we ended up having enough for all the big kids to have their own can tonight.

That is one happy boy!

Billy "helped" Jace fire his can.

Eli was delighted by the whole thing.

And then we cleaned up, and we were done. 

As we walked out of the pool, Caleb told me, "Mommy, this was the best birthday ever."

I asked him what was it that made it so great, and he said, "I don't know. All the fun we had!"

I love that something as simple as playing at the pool with his family makes my boy so happy.

As we loaded all of our stuff into the van, I pulled Caleb aside to take a birthday picture.

He won't let me cut his hair, even though it's usually in his eyes. It's stringy and wet from the pool. He's wearing only his swim trunks. And he is happy, happy, happy.

Of course, you know I had to brush the hair out of his eyes. His face isn't as natural or genuine as the last picture, but it's my boy, through and through. I am blessed that he is mine!