Jonah's 8th Birthday

Every child's birth is special and forever stamped in my mind.  But, as is Jonah, his birth is just a little different from the rest.  Less than two days after Hurricane Rita hit and 6 days overdue, Jonah decided it was time to enter this world. Those things they say about the barometric pressure being low and birthing a baby are true...at least for me.  Thinking about it all now and I realize the whole things is so Jonah.

All 7lbs 11ozs of Jonah

Loving him the first moment he looked at me

Jonah is either slow...so SLOW.  Or Jonah is moving a hundred miles an hour with no care to the things around him....kind of like this birth.  That calm, relaxed baby that lived for us for a year is gone because Jonah is not relaxed.   Jonah is a bundle of energy waiting to explode at any given moment.  My dear boy uses all his willpower to sit still at school or in the car or at church and then it is gone.  There is nothing left but overflowing energy and he becomes a bouncing ball.  His energy level makes me absolutely crazy on most days, but I love him for it.

The gym and the trampoline are his calm.  He loves to be at the gym.  I asked him the other week how his practice went.  He answered like he always does "good".  So I asked if practice was ever bad.  He answered just as I expected him to "no, it is either good or great, but never bad."  He is at home in the gym flipping, running, swinging, twisting, and learning how to move and control his body at the same time.  He is brave and confident...even a little cocky at times!  Enrolling him in a tumbling class at 2 years and 4 months was one of my best Jonah parenting decisions ever!

One of our friends said a long time ago that Jonah is 100% whatever he is doing and feeling.  A more true statement has never been uttered about Jonah.  He lives full on whatever he is doing.  Everything he is thinking and feeling is on his face.  There is no guessing how Jonah feels.  His emotions are so close to the surface that I don't always know what to do with him.  He feels love and the need to be loved probably more than any of his siblings.  It is a mystery to me, but it is Jonah and I love him for it.

It has taken me a long time to get Jonah.  We are very different in many ways and so alike in many other ways.  He challenges me in good ways almost daily.  God was playing a funny trick on me when He gave me Jonah. But, I could not be more thankful! 

To keep Jonah calm we structure his days to the "nth" degree.  He thrives on it and I will do it for him always. Jonah is full of life, love, and energy.  He is a joy to know and to parent.  I am so blessed to be his mom.  I am so thankful that we get to make this day special for him because today we celebrate the blessing that is Jonah Gilbert Mann!

The many faces and emotions of this amazing boy....uniquely Jonah all the time!

Happy 8th Birthday Jonah!!!!