The best birthday gift in the history of man!

Or woman... Or at least the best birthday gift in the history of this woman :) I apologize in advance for all of those who have given me wonderful birthday presents in the past. I have been blessed with many great friends and wonderful family that have shown me great love on my birthdays. However, it is difficult to compete with a gift giver like River.

My birthday was Friday the 17th and on that day River started to say, "ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma." Now I know that he has yet to connect that sound to the title that he will eventually use to refer to me but it is the first of the syllables that he has begun to repeat and it gives me hope that perhaps Mama will be his first word. Usually the "da, da, da, da, da" sound is easier to make and is the natural first step.

Was it just a coincidence that he started to say "ma, ma, ma, ma, ma" on his mom's birthday? Was he just trying to be a rebel (much like his proud mom) and do things differently from other babies? Or did his precious soul, much closer to the Lord than I, know that his insecure mother (who has wanted so desperately to be a stay at home mom for him and has felt horrible about the increasing number of hours she's had to work because they've kept her away from him) needed a subtle sign that he still loves her and understands that you gotta do what you've gotta do sometimes to support your family even if it takes you away from them more than you'd like.

In this life I will probably never know. But either way I want to say, thank you son! You couldn't have picked a better day or a better gift whether you meant it or not!