JMichael is Nine!

Nine years old.  Nine.  JMichael was born on a cold winter day in 2008.  He was hospitalized for the first 15 days of his life in the NICU of Arkansas Children's Hospital.  I learned a lot in the NICU and I have an immense amount of respect for those angels that work there with those little souls.  Not a place for the faint of heart.

JMichael was born with "whimpy white boy" syndrome - basically his lungs were heavy with fluid and he could not breathe on his own.  He was on a breathing machine and intubated for weeks before he could breathe independently.  We couldn't hold him, and he didn't wear anything but a diaper under his own personal heat lamp.  James and I just sat and watched his numbers on the monitors.  It was hard, but, you would never know it now.  Just try to make him sit under a heat lamp in a diaper.

The obligatory fingers pose - nine years old.  Look at those freckles and curls.  Sweet!

 

These are light up shoes.  They can change colors and speeds in flashing.  This is ALL he wanted.  Funny story - I ordered these for Christmas, because they are also all he wanted for Christmas, but, they didn't come in.  They arrived just in time for his birthday, but, not after I had already ordered a second pair, thinking that the first pair would never arrive.  Shhh, I have two pairs of these!

 

We also went grass sledding at the Clinton Memorial Library in Little Rock.  The first picture is Samantha and JMichael sitting on a piece of cardboard.  The second picture is about ten seconds later - Samantha and JMichael at the bottom of the hill.  So much fun.

JMichael had the day off of school for his birthday; thank you Presidents of the US.  It was seventy degrees.  Amazing weather.

At nine, JMichael is the outdoorsy, always busy boy of the BallTeam.  He loves every sport that has a ball and now cardboard.  He loves math, but, his reading is taking some work.  His head of auburn curls catches all the girls' eyes and he is never at a loss for friends.  He is sweet, follows directions and loves mayonaise sandwiches.  And hot dogs.  This boy can eat some hot dogs.

One of JMichael's famous sayings at our house is, What if....  He is constantly questioning things around him.  Mom, what if fences were made out of spaghetti?  Mom, what if all the sand on the beach just turned into big rocks?  Mom, what if I eat this whole package of hot dogs without cooking them?

Oh, son, what if you could stay little forever?  Happy Birthday.