Lucky 7!

Last week our biggest little man turned 7!!! Little Joe, being the math wiz he is didn't take long to figure out that on the 7th month of the 7th day he was turning 7. And that his party was on the 7th day of the week...just a touch of Joe for ya there. My Dad, Joe, and I gave him a new bike with no training wheels. He was so super excited. And even just practising for 2 days he can go a pretty good distance without falling over....now ask him to make a turn around a corner and you've got serious problems LOL.

We had a party with just a few local friends filled with silly string and 245 water balloons (Joe and I got a little crazy with a few of leaky ones the night before). Little Joe was so happy and we thank those who came over. I made his cake as usual. He wanted a Jimmie Johnson (a Nascar racer) theme so we made it work. He is a HUGE Jimmie Johnson fan! He keeps record of what laps the wrecks are on, what place Jimmie is in, and how many pit stops he makes. Again with the math...yep.

I'm sure most of you know about Joe's health issues. But if not...this was a very sick little boy when he was young. If not for the wonderful hospital and staff our precious little boy made not have made it to see this birthday so we always consider these big events. And even though Joe still has some serious health problems we know it could be worse and we are thankful for all of his gifts.

Now for 7 things we love about Joe.

1. Gotta say it like we always do...his smile. That kid is ALWAYS smiling. And you can tell exactly how he is feeling just by reading his smile.

2. His brains. This kid is terribly smart. It may bite me later but I love to see this kid in action and learning. He loves to watch the science and history channel, which my husband LOVES, and he will just sit like a sponge and soak up anything he can.

3. His compassion. Joe is a very loving kid. Towards his brother and sister, toward his friends, toward a worm on the pavement. I love that he randomly gives me a hug. I think his struggles in life makes him very aware of others' pain and he wants to help them.

4. His joy. Kinda of ties into the smile. Very rarely is Joe not in a good mood. He loves to laugh and joke and have a good time even in tough times. He is so funny...just love it.

5. His bravery. Joe never cries when I say we need to go to the hospital. He may look concerned as to what they will do but he never cries. We have had a few serious things happen with his tube and the only one shedding tears was yours truly. He is a very tough kid.

6. His eyes. I've mentioned these in past birthday posts too. Those eyes are some of the palest blues I have ever seen. Just beautiful.

7. His independence. Joe was never a cuddler (which I wanted when he was little). He was always reaching, crawling, grabbing for anything new that he could. He is not a shy kid at all. he will dive right in on a playground and come out with 8 new friends.

There are so many other things I can say about Joe, but I am getting long winded. I hope he remembers this lucky 7 birthday. We love you so much buddy!!! Happy 7th!