he's 6....

Wow! How time does fly! It seems unreal that Duke is turning six.

I have to reminisce for a minute.

Duke at 1 year. He was a chunky little guy. He has made me sweat from day one. It is no secret that he has always been hard. But man.... he has always been precious! He is such a sweet boy.

Duke at 2 years. Molly had only been around for a few months when Duke turned 2. Bless him.... all of the sudden, he wasn't getting all of the attention. Even so, he never seemed to mind. In the fall of 2007, we had a real scare with Duke. He had been sick on and off for several months. He was wheezing and coughing until he would throw up. he and I would sleep on the couch during the nights that he was sick because I was too scared to put him in the bed alone. We took him back and forth to Dr. Cab until the antibiotics had gotten to where they weren't working. We were referred to a Pulmunologist in Birmingham for tests. Duke was being tested for Cystic Fibrosis. Chad and I were terribly scared. After all of the testing and what seemed like waiting forever.... we found out that Duke didn't have CF but he did have Asthma. He was put on a nebulizer for about a year and then on inhalers as needed. Each year we have been able to see great improvements in his asthma and this year has been the best yet! It looks like Duke may be growing out of it!

Duke at 3 years. By now, he and Molly had become great friends. He has loved her so much from the start. The day of his 3rd birthday party, he became really sick with a fever and was coughing from his asthma. Needless to say, he didn't have a very good 3rd bithday.

Duke at 4 years. Duke was now in school at Word Alive and making friends. He has always done well in school. He had already begun writing his name and knew all of his letters and most of their sounds. What a smart boy he is! However, he has always been silly and loves attention. I fear he may be the class clown one day.
This was his first season of sports, he started with soccer and seemed to love it!

Duke at 5. Duke starts Kindergarten when he is five. He is completely ready and really excited because he would be going with me. He has continued to do well in school, although he gets in trouble at home A LOT! He has made more new friends and seems to be enjoying his Kindergarten year!

And.... he's 6!

This year we had his party at Party Central with a Batman theme. I actually let him choose where he wanted to have his party and of course what kind of cake he wanted. He was specific about his cake and once I finished.... he said it was exactly what he wanted! I am so proud to be able to do cakes for my kids. They love watching me when I am doing cakes for others and are always excited about getting to choose one for themselves.
Any way, we started the day by taking Duke and Molly to see the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, The Squeakquel. (Notice the pose... not real sure where this came from.)

After the movie, we were off the Party Central for the party. Duke was really excited and I was very nervous because his birthday is New Year's eve and we have never had his party on his actual birthday because we know everyone usually has plans, but we went ahead and did it this year. There weren't as many friends as I had hoped, but Duke seemed to have a really good time and of course, that's all that matters!

Duke and lifelong girlfriend, Savannah. Love...

The cake!

Happy Birthday sweet boy! Momma and Daddy are very proud of you and

we love you very much!