Birthdays

Tomorrow is March 1 (and it'll be a month since I blogged:)).  It is Kalid's 6th birthday.  In 10 days, it'll be Abuzaid's 8th birthday (though he'll only be 7 on paper).  The boys LOVE their birthdays!!  This year, Kalid wanted to have a few of his buddies over after school for some playing and cupcakes- simple!  Abuzaid is bringing a couple of friends swimming in a combined party with Landon (who will be 9 in 19 days).  Throw Jonah in there in a couple of weeks turning 11 and it turns into a very busy month!  Temesgen celebrated his 10th birthday 2 days after being home.  He says he remembers it, but it's probably a little fuzzy.  I love being able to celebrate the boys on their special days, but it can be hard for me (and someday, potentially, hard for them).  We have no idea when their 'real' birthdays are.  We can't be sure that they're the ages they are- we think Kalid's is right on and with Abuzaid's, we just tell him he's a year older than his birth certificate says since we can't change it.  Someday when he's 39, maybe he'll decide to be 39 for one more year and just go by the age on his birth certificate:).
 Every year on Jonah and Landon's birthdays, I remember what it was like the day they were born.  I tell them their birth story.  Landon's was not a super happy tale since he was born 2 1/2 months early and was airlifted out shortly after he was born.  But I can at least tell him the details~ I know how much he weighed and the things I was feeling the night he was born.  Kalid,  Abuzaid, and Temesgen don't have those details.  I know they were all 3 loved very much- that much is obvious.  But beyond that, we have nothing.  We celebrate them on the day that was made up for them.  Sometimes that is hard for me.  But then I remember that the most important part of birthdays is not remembering the details, but loving the child we're celebrating.  I can't make the boys any smaller in those first pictures we saw of them~ trying to imagine them as babies.
I can guess that Abuzaid walked early on- clumsily, but determined to MOVE! I can imagine that Kalid wanted to be held- a lot.  I bet his mama didn't put him down much and it makes me happy to imagine that he got that love.  I imagine that Temesgen was a super chill baby- kind of like Jonah was- happy and mellow.  I know they were all some of the most beautiful babies because I'm their mama and I'm a little partial to them.
We are BLESSED by our boys- all 5 of them.  Time for birthday month!!