Happy Birthday Sport!

I cannot believe our fourth child is now 18 years old!  I know it keeps happening and they just keep growing, but what all of that means is I am getting old!

Sport has some fabulous stories!

When we first moved here, Sport wasn't quite three.  A few months later, he had figured out the differences between boys and girls.  The 1st Counselor in the Bishopric had invited us over for dinner.  They still had 2 teenaged daughters at home.  We were all sitting around their table, getting ready to say the blessing for the dinner, when Sport piped up.  He went around the entire table, "Penis, no penis, penis, penis, penis, no penis, no penis, penis, penis...."etc.  It was so embarrassing.  Drew and I and the other parents were all trying, without much success, to stifle our laughter.  The girls were mortified, and of course, our boys, who were all of 8, 6& 1/2, 4&  1/2, 3, and brand new, thought it was just hilarious.  To this day, we still laugh about that dinner appointment.

Sport has always had a very unique and specific taste in attire.  My personal favorite outfit was this one:

In my mind, it is always combined with this one:

His favorite shirt was the batman one.  We could hardly ever get him out of it.  And his favorite shorts were the ones he is wearing in the photo.  That old photo doesn't really do justice to the colors, but his shirt is black and purple, his shorts turquoise and pink, then the boots just kill me.  He loved to have his blanket tied around his neck like a cape and pretend he was a super hero.  That poor blanket.  My mother made it.  It was patch work on the top and had flannel Porky Pigs on the back.  The flannel shredded and had to be replaced.  I looked everywhere for the Porky Pig material but could not find it.  Sport would not let me replace it with anything until I convinced him that one of the materials I had was the pattern of dinosaur footprints.  That was the only one good enough for his blanket.  He loved dinosaurs!

That boy could tell you the name of every dinosaur, at three.  Once, on vacation at Grandma's house, he drew a giant T-rex, in chalk on the driveway, eating our family members and then showed them going through the digestive tract all the way to the end.  It was so funny to watch him explain his drawing to his Grandfather, who got such a kick out of his ability to understand what happens to things when we eat them and to understand that if the T-rex ate us, that is what would happen.  To this day we still have his giant tub of plastic dinos.

He was my pickiest person, until we had Spike.  Sport never would take a bottle, ever.  I had to pray every night that I would make enough milk for that baby.  I have tried with other babies and it has never worked.  They have been willing to take a bottle and I didn't ever produce enough milk for them.

Today he is still extremely particular.  His clothes have to fit just right.  His art tools have to be just right.  His art has to be just right.  And he will only eat certain things.

For all of his peculiarity, he is an amazing young man.  He loves his Father in Heaven.  He knows the truth.  He lives the truth.  He loves the truth.  He is kind, but still needs to learn to become nurturing.  He loves to play the piano and composes things regularly.  And his timing is always spot on, which makes his music that much better.

I, personally, LOVE his music tastes.  Sport comes home with the most amazing music and it fills my soul.  He has been a huge blessing in our lives, and mine in particular.  When I was so overwhelmed with the stresses of young motherhood and found out I was pregnant, yet again, with three little boys who were 4, 2 & 1/2, and under 1.....I prayed and prayed, and told my Father in Heaven if He was serious about sending this baby, I could not handle another baby who had health problems, like the first two, or severe allergies like all three of them did.  I wanted a baby who made me laugh, who slept, and lightened the load I was feeling.  He sent me Sport, who was definitely an answer to that prayer.  He has kept me laughing ever since.  His one-liners are amazing and hilarious!

Happy Birthday Sport!  We love you!