Life as I know it...: Bubba & Blue Bear turn 8!

Eight years ago today, November 23, 2003 my first baby boy and his bear were delivered!

Mark Tyler Johnston was my first born boy, the biggest of my babies - weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs., 1 oz. - and had to be delivered via emergency c-section after his chin became stuck on my pelvic bone (poor boy) because he was "sunny side up" (face up instead of face down). Mark also got a special delivery (though nobody could have known just how special that delivery would be), Mark got "Blue Bear" from Grandma & Grandpa Johnston that day; Blue Bear, who is "Grumpy" from the Care Bears, has become Marks most prized possession!

Mark is the only child of mine who was named after Aerosmith (and if you don't already know this about me, I am obsessed with Aerosmith!), with his middle name being "Tyler" after Steven Tyler! I pushed for the first name Steven, but Greg would only allow me to take it so far! Mark got his nickname "Bubba" not long after birth, for no real reason...I just started calling him Bubba and it kinda stuck!

From the day Mark was born we all thought we had a hockey player on our hands, but we couldn't have been farther from the truth! Mark has NO desire to play hockey, or any sport for that matter (though I have to say that he does enjoy playing in his House Leagues at school and even scored his very first goal in floor hockey a few weeks ago!) and his teacher wrote in his report card that he is Strong Competitor, and that he is improving in his volleyball and soccer skills! Marks passion in life is drawing and art! He is VERY good at drawing and would rather sit and draw than pretty much anything else in this world. He has asked for an electric pencil sharpener for Christmas so he can sharpen his pencils faster and more often! He has a sketch book that he draws many of his pictures in and I love to just flip through it and see all the different drawings he has done!

Along with drawing, Mark loves to build things. With those two things under his belt, he already knows that he wants to be an Architect when he grows up! Last year he wanted to be a "Home Stayer"- aka stay-at-home-man! Glad that he has loftier goals in life now! Mark has designed all of his siblings homes for when they grow up, and he has designed his own house in the field right next to our house!

Mark gets along with ~~all~~ most of his siblings quite well, however he is a bit of an instigator and can get all of them screaming when he wants to! He always has a sly little smile on his face when someone in our house screams! Mark is not at all helpful around the house, unless I have asked his sister to do something, then just like magic, Mark jumps up and wants to do that exact thing and it just happens to make his little sister scream with fury!! Funny how that works!

One curious thing about Mark is that he will ONLY wear short sleeve t-shirts and soft pants with NO buttons or zippers! The only time Mark has worn a "wedding shirt" as he calls dressy or button down shirts, is for a wedding or very special day like Natalie's graduation or a Christmas concert! One day that I will never forget was Grace's 6th birthday when Mark came walking out in his "wedding shirt" and said that it was a special day that day; that is how I know he really actually does love his little sister!

Mark is a very special little boy who I look so forward to seeing grow into a young man and I can't wait to see what he becomes when he grows up!

Before I show you some pictures of my little boy, I will describe him using his name:

M: Mama suck

A: Artist

R: REALLY (competitive)

K: Knowledgeable

Happy Birthday Bubba!

SJ