Birthday Boy

Tuesday, June 16th is the day Lance has been looking forward to for months. The day he turns five! He really wanted to celebrate his birthday in Utah, so we had a little party with his friends before we left for vacation.

Five years ago today was such a fun day. Trent, Riley and Brant were old enough to really be excited about the arrival of their new baby brother. I was induced at Springhill Hospital here in Mobile. While I was in labor, Annie and her girls and Mimi took the kids to play at nearby Chik-fil-a. The Constantines met them there and they waited for word that Baby Brother had come. When Ricky called to tell them the news, they were at the hospital within minutes. Joined by other members of the family, we had a big party in the recovery room. Throughout the afternoon, other family and friends came to meet the new little one. What a way to welcome such a fun boy into the world.

Since we're remembering the day he was born, it might be fun to talk about Lance's name. He was our first child that didn't have a name before he was born. We knew that his middle name would be "Obie" after Ricky's dad who died the previous October. His first name eluded us until the morning after he was born. Ricky brought the other kids back to see Baby Brother and they informed me that they had decided his name would be Lance after Lance Armstrong who was riding in and would win his 6th straight Tour de France that year. Lance was actually on our short list of names so we agreed that "Lance Obie Benham" it would be.

Today was the REAL birthday and it started with his special birthday breakfast and presents from siblings and cousins. Later, he went with his brothers on a special birthday date with Grandma. She would have taken him alone, but he was being a little wierd about it, so she offered for them to go along. Later, we went to one of Lance's favorite places in the whole world, Pump-It-Up. We bounced and slid and raced and played all evening.

Then, back to Annie's for birthday cake. He told me yesterday that he didn't want me to take any pictures when he blew out his candles, so I took a video. Listen for Gavin at the end of the song. He is a couple beats behind.

When I returned from taking Blakeley home, Lance and Hayden had fallen asleep in Hayden's bed. They must have been exhausted. Nighty-night, Birthday Boy. We love you so much.