Ethan

This is Ethan.....he's 9. He's my oldest child. He's halfway to 18... wah?

Because I think I'll never forget, but realize that I most definitely won't be able to remember these little tidbits, these are few things about Ethan that make him who his right now.

He still loves horses...that's 7 years of equine adoration. Quite a run of consistency.

He has a soft spot for all things living...mammal or otherwise. He will go out of his way to make sure a "family" stays together.

He loves to jump out of places and scare his younger siblings. They hate it and no matter how much I threaten, he never seems to stop.

He loves non-fiction. He's a walking encyclopedia when it comes to reptiles, mammals, fish, dinosaurs, ancient mythology, etc. He loves the facts!

His hair grows faster than anyone I've ever known. If I don't give his a haircut at least once a month he starts developing a helmet head.

He's constantly asking me to look up different toys on Amazon. He likes to consider how long it would take him to save up his allowance and then weigh his options.

He loves to cook...particularly scrambled eggs. I love it too. I just taught him to make chicken pot pie and won tons. After this baby is born, we'll be having alot of these three items. Oh...and nutty buddies. Who could ask for more?

He talks in his sleep. As far as I can tell, he's dreaming about arguing with me and trying to explain why he is right and completely innocent of all accusations.

He wants everything to fair. This can make life hard...as it isn't.

He rocks on air guitar in the back seat of our super fly silver minivan.

I worry so much about him because he's the first child and we expect so much of him. Will he hate me? Are we messing him up? Are we too strict? Too relaxed? I wish I knew.

I do know that I love him more than I can say and want everything wonderful in this life for him. I'm thankful that he is a good example to his little brother and sisters and that he cares so much about being good.

I'm looking forward to the next 9, kiddo.