One

Happy Birthday, Ethan Joseph!

Having kids is an experience of infinite reward, surprise, and challenge.  Delights abound, from the first finger grab to being called by name.  It is your heart, laid bare, for the world to see.  You imbue this little person with all of the hope for the future and you are constantly tempted to see that future instead of the present, almost certainly because it is so tantalizing.  But the baby does things to keep you in the present--poopy diapers, thrown food, getting sick.  They impress on you the need to be attentive to the present and not get lost in the future.  But today, on Ethan's actual birthday, I am reminded neither of the present nor the future, but of the past.  

Ethan's birth, like all births, was an event.  Isaac was stubborn and didn't want to come out.  Ethan did not have that problem.  But unlike his brother, Ethan's arrive wasn't exactly smooth.  He had some trouble and gave everyone a scare.  It seems like a speed bump now, but the reality is that at the time it was all consuming.  For a few moments, the panic and fright of what was going on seemed to be all there was in the world.  Then the doctor did his thing and Ethan has been fine ever since (oh, then there was the hospital a few days later for serious jaundice, but that too is a distant memory).  

So on this first birthday I am reminded of how precious our little Beethan is.  I am reminded of how much he has changed our lives.  I am reminded of how grateful his brother is that he is here.  Everyone is grateful that Beethy is here.  While, at the time, we didn't know it nor did we feel like it was the case, it is clear now that our family was incomplete without the Beethmaster.  

Isaac, Mom, and Dad all love you our little 1 year old, our fighter, our passionate kid, our endlessly curious kid, our kid that loves to get in to it.  

Happy Birthday Ethan Joseph Sculimbrene!  We love you Beethan.