Funny Guy Friday... Happy Birthday to the cute one...

     Funny Guy Friday is written each week by my husband Mark. So, I married a funny guy...
     Just about every day, I snuggle up to Noah and try to cut a deal with him... if he agrees to stop growing, I will take care of him for the rest of his life. Sounds like a win win for both of us.
     He never takes me up on it, but if he were ever to say yes, I would do whatever I could to make it happen. Unfortunately, he just keeps growing up, and this week he turns nine years old.
     I am not sure if it is because he is our youngest or that it's because our Matthew and Grace have become more independent as they get older... or perhaps because I, too, was the youngest and cutest kid in my family... and I certainly do not mean any ill-will to my other two children... but Noah is just way cuter than the other two. I try not to play favorites, but it is hard when one out-cutes the others by such a wide margin.
     I will give you an example.
     I cannot stand when kids call other kids names... or tease them about what they eat, how they act, or how they look. I just don't like when kids are mean to other kids. The other day, Noah was on the verge of tears because Matthew told him that he was getting kind of chunky. I inquired of Matthew, in a mean fatherly tone, as to why he would say such a thing and why he would not stop when he saw how upsetting it was to Noah.
     Matthew explained that Noah calls him fat all the time and refers to Grace as a hippo (okay, maybe Noah is not as sweet as I think he is).
     I called Noah over and again asked, in a mean fatherly tone, why he would say such things. This brought him much closer to the verge of tears. He tried to tell me that he was only kidding, but he had a hard time getting the words out from behind the tears. 
     Look, as a lawyer, I am fully aware that the only kidding defense creates an absolute bar to any punishment... especially for the youngest/cutest member of the family... like Noah... and me.
     The only kidding defense is like a get-out-of-jail-free card. 
     His reaction broke my heart, so I did the best thing a dad could do for his young son.  I turned to Matthew and told him he was fat, and I turned to Gracie and called her a hippo. There, problem solved and the tears turned to laughter. My little boy's smile lit up the room.
     I had Cheryl smooth it over with the other two... um... the older boy and the girl. What are their names?  Oh yeah, Grace and Matthew.
     They often ask why I always side with Noah, and the answer is simple: he is still cute!
     Just to show that I do not really favor the cute one over the other two, less cute ones, I did explain to Noah that I was only having fun with Gracie and Matthew, and he needs to watch how he talks to them, even if he is only kidding.
     He understood... so we celebrated with some ice cream! I think the punishment fit the crime.
     So without any further ado, I give you the top nine list of things we love about Noah that you may not know:
     9. He works his hair until it is perfect with the flip in the front... even when he is going to bed. You never know when you might meet the girl of your dreams... in your dreams.
     8. He is a super-talented artist who encourages others... I can see how people might think that your picture looks like a pumpkin! I mean, I kinda see it.  
     7. He is funny. When Cheryl asked him if he remembered where he put her phone the day before, he told her that he remembers it as if it were yesterday!
     6. He is a great little brother... when he is not calling his siblings fat hippos.
     5. When he grows up, he wants to be a cartoonist at Busch Gardens or a door man at an apartment in New York. I am all for it, as I don't think either profession requires an expensive college education.
     4. He watches too many crime shows with his sister and brother, as evidenced by the fact that he points out great places to hide bodies... and he displays a keen ability to distinguish between murder and manslaughter.
     3. He turned an unassisted triple play this past baseball season. There was already one out when he did it, but we are counting it as a triple play anyway.
     2. He has the best "smolder look" that you have ever seen... when you see him, ask him to show you. Ladies... be prepared to swoon! Don't say I didn't warn you!
     1. He is smart. He is funny. He is talented. He is stinky... Noooo not stinky! He is a great son, a great brother, and one really sweet kid!

     I always ask Noah if he knows how much I love him, and he always answers To the Moon and Back, once, twice or three times. No matter how many times he says to the Moon and Back, I tell him he is wrong... I love him to the Moon and Back... at least one more time. 
     Happy Birthday buddy!