McRae has been ten for all of 12 days and my world has officially changed. Not only are the 10 days of birthday (not to be confused with the 12 days of Christmas) finally over, but my family make-up has taken a turn. You see, he has informed me that he is no longer a child, he is a preteen. Jeebus.
I kept a calendar on McRae's wall for his first year. I wrote something on it every day. Everything from his mood and the weather to the number of times he did a "big job" in his diaper and how many ounces of pureed peas he ate (which strangely increased the number of "big jobs" in his diaper -- strange) was documented for every day during his first year of life.
My friends thought I was crazy.
I am so glad I have that calendar to look back upon now, because today, 10 years ago, this is what it said:
FIRST BIG PUKE ON MOM! (written by Dad)
Fussy during diaper change. Visitors today were Uncle Ryan and his friends, Great Grandma Carol and Anutie Michelle.
That's all folks for March 12, 1997.
Today, his calendar (if I still was insane enough to continue this for 10 whole years) would read:
Went to school.
Passed out thank you cards.
Had a Doctor's check-up.
Got hearing and sight checked, apparently he can hear just fine.
Haven't been sick in 5 years.
Had a shot.
Peed in a cup.
Gave some blood then got a sticker and went home.
I am afraid this information is a far cry from the calendar of his first year, but I will share his thank you letter with you, because it makes me proud. Proud to have a ten-year-old. Proud to have a child willing to place more value on the importance of giving to a worthy cause (of his choice) than material things. Proud to be his mom.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for coming to my birthday party at the swimming pool. I hope you had fun. I wanted to let you know that all together we collected:
1 rawhide dog bone
1 dog toy
1 bag of dog treats
1 box of dog bones
and...
$128 in cash donations to the Animal Shelter!
Thank you for giving and for celebrating my birthday with me.
McRae
My friends thought I was crazy.
I am so glad I have that calendar to look back upon now, because today, 10 years ago, this is what it said:
FIRST BIG PUKE ON MOM! (written by Dad)
Fussy during diaper change. Visitors today were Uncle Ryan and his friends, Great Grandma Carol and Anutie Michelle.
That's all folks for March 12, 1997.
Today, his calendar (if I still was insane enough to continue this for 10 whole years) would read:
Went to school.
Passed out thank you cards.
Had a Doctor's check-up.
Got hearing and sight checked, apparently he can hear just fine.
Haven't been sick in 5 years.
Had a shot.
Peed in a cup.
Gave some blood then got a sticker and went home.
I am afraid this information is a far cry from the calendar of his first year, but I will share his thank you letter with you, because it makes me proud. Proud to have a ten-year-old. Proud to have a child willing to place more value on the importance of giving to a worthy cause (of his choice) than material things. Proud to be his mom.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for coming to my birthday party at the swimming pool. I hope you had fun. I wanted to let you know that all together we collected:
1 rawhide dog bone
1 dog toy
1 bag of dog treats
1 box of dog bones
and...
$128 in cash donations to the Animal Shelter!
Thank you for giving and for celebrating my birthday with me.
McRae
"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world" ~Louis Armstrong
13 comments:
Happy Birthing Day, Carrie!
And happy birthday to McRae, of course. :)
Wow. Great post. Cool photos too!
Oh, darling first grandson... I am so proud.
Happy Birthday to him!!
I love the idea of collecting for charity instead of presents. I may suggest that for my kids!
Well Done!
RIGHT ON!!!
Oh Carrie, you and McRae are the shizz. That's so damn cool...
I'm so proud of both of you. Knowing that you're "out there" continues to inspire me and for that I'm truly grateful.
That is awesome! Was it his idea to collect? I am so proud of him too!
And preteen? Have fun!
Great pictures - AS ALWAYS!
PS.. how did you tell people on the invites you were doing this?
WOW ten ! I can't imagine my baby at ten! HAPPY BELATED!!
Awww. Happy Birthday you adoreable, cool kid.
(How do you raise a kid that hasn't been sick in 5 years? I AM ENVIOUS!)
Thank you everyone, I will share your comments with McRae!!
MK -- I ran the idea past him and he jumped on it without hesitation, he chose the animal shelter.
The invites said come celebrate at the pool etc., etc., etc. And then at the bottom: No gifts please! McRae will be collecting donations for the Animal Shelter if you would like to contribute. We had a lot of parents who were so glad to be doing this too, and all the kids were more than willing and happy to give. Made it very easy!
Thank you everyone!
Carrie
love the pictures. and love the birthday idea. i think it's perfect.
It's posts like this that give me hope that kids really can still be wonderful human beings beyond the age of 3... Sounds like such a great kid. Is he still running for president?
Oh, you GO McRae... what a wonderful PRETEEN you have there, Carrie!
And, Carrie, how CUTE are you!!!
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