9 years and counting

I can hardly believe that around this time of year, 9 whole years ago, I was in labor for the first time, preparing for my sweet little guy to enter the world. Holy crap, did it hurt! I remember not being at all prepared. He was coming 10 days early and I was always told that first babies come late. Not our baby boy! And do you know, that's been his personality from then on? He hates being late, loves being early and is always ready for an adventure.
When he was only 17 months old, he was escaping out our front door, running over to the tractors nearby and climbing up on them. He could balance himself well on a tricycle to try reaching something. He could repeat words at 10 months old, and was the only one who could make Corrine laugh on command.




He loves attention. But not the kind where you go, "Oh my heck. He's a total attention hog." The kind where you go, "Hoo boy, that little guy sure is cute!" In the above photo, he was just days old. We put him in his car seat to go somewhere, and he screamed and screamed. As soon as I pulled out the camera to take a picture of his near purple face, he stopped. And didn't cry again until his next feeding time nearly 3 hours later.

I alway used to think he had racoon eyes. I loved his big round peepers! And his round face. And his round everything!

He was THE happiest baby ever. Always smiling. Always content. Loved making others laugh (still does). His belly laugh was one to be reckoned with. And such a cuddlebug.



This shot was taken literally seconds before he fell into the water. Michael had taken Hunter fishing so that I could rest. (I was nearly 8 months pregnant with Corrine.) Michael had his tackle box open and a hook in his hand. He was preparing to bait the hook when Hunter tripped and fell head first into the water. Michael reached down and grabbed Hunter by the arm and hoisted him out of the water. In his haste, however, Michael forgot that he was holding a fish hook. It ended up embedded in his hand, thus resulting in trip to the ER.
Hunter has been on many outings with Michael. I remember once going to the bird refuge with him to check on some traps and coming up on a raccoon in a live cage trap (meaning it was alive in the trap). This racoon was so big that it couldn't even turn around in the cage. It started growling and hissing at us. Hunter came within inches of its face and growled right back at it. Scared the poor 'coon half to death.
Bunter loved my stamp collection. He was always "helping" me make things. On this day, he helped me stamp his face.

He was always saying, "Mommy! Take my pichurrrr! I tho cuuuute!" (He had the SWEETEST lisp!)

It's crazy to think that when Hunter was the age that Elayna is right now, I had a newborn baby. Hunter has always been so sweet with babies. He loves them. He loves to play with their hair and smell their sweetness.

Hunter has never given a second thought or care as to what others think of him. He has never been a follower. Once, while eating pizza with his cousins, he asserted his independence and refused to take a bite. Despite the circus we performed trying to get him to eat, he still refused. Even when we said, "Look! Everyone else is eating it!" He remained steadfast in his convictions. To this day, he is a leader among his friends and peers. And DANG IT! I'm proud of him!
He was obsessed with cowboys. He even made up songs about himself when he was a cowboy and used to ride Ol' Red.
It went something like this:
"Wunth I wuth a towboy, I uthed to ride Ol' Red. And I had a Jared and a Maxth dog. Then I died."
He wore his cowboy boots and hat everywhere. Once while in the grocery store, we saw an honest to goodness cowboy. Boots, spurs, hat and all. Hunter was so excited, he almost fell out of the cart trying to catch a glimpse of him. So I let him down and he ran up to the cowboy and gave his leg a humongous hug. He looked up at the guy and said, "I'm a cowboy, too! Do you know Ol' Red?"
This might be Ol' Red. Every night almost, he would ask Michael to be a buckin' bronc. And we would play Marty Robbins and sing and buck.

Another one of Hunter's quirks was his ability to fall asleep in any situation. Every night when I would go to tuck him in just before I went to bed, I would find him like this. In the middle of all his toys in the middle of his floor. Most times, when I went to check on him, he had his levi pants pulled up halfway over his pj's. The kid loved 'big pants'. He had to wear pants everyday. Even when we moved to Arizona and it reached 195 degrees, he still insisted on wearing pants. Because that's what cowboys wear.

When Hunter was 3 years old, he went to the Doc for a well child visit. The doc was pointing to different pictures and asking Hunter to identify them. He identifed a bird as a golden eagle, and a woman as "Step in Time". Which would be what he called Mary Poppins, one of his favorite movies. When the Dr. said to Hunter, "If Mommy is a girl, then Daddy is what?" Hunter replied with fervor, "Green Guy!" At that time, Michael and Hunter played Spiderman and Green Guy. Of course, this meant that Hunter was always Spiderman.

Hunter's biggest hero is his dad. In every way he tries to emulate Michael.

Have you ever known a child who is so well behaved, that you wonder if they're even a child at all? Yeah, well, that's not Hunter. He does occassionally get himself into trouble, but what normal child doesn't? But Hunter is a good boy. Genuinely, from the heart, good. I sometimes wonder if he is really mine, he's that good.
My sweet Bubba, here's to you. May you always maintain your zest for life, your love of all things hunting (and all things in general), your incredible ability to uplift those around you, and the gift of being a leader.
I'm so happy to call you mine.