7 years ago...

A very quiet darkened delivery room in the middle of the night. My doctor was out of town when my water broke on my due date- the evening of April 5. I really wanted him to be born on April 6- what better birthday can you think of? Who wouldn't want to share a birthday with Jesus Christ? It looked like it might happen.
My parents came over to stay with the girls. We went to the hospital even though I wasn't in labor yet. Greg was too nervous to wait it out at home! After proving to some nurse that my water had broken, they let me stay. Epidural of course once things got going. Eventually the midwife from my doctor's office came in, turned down the lights a bit, and told me to push as the monitor showed a contraction. Seriously it was the quietest delivery I have ever known! When he came out there was a actual gasp from the nurse- She was shocked at how big he was... 9 lbs!

My dad was the first one to come see him. I would have liked this baby to come early- March 23rd to be exact- so he could be born on my dad's 60th birthday. Oh well! We knew his middle name would be David (after my dad), but we hadn't decided on his first name yet. I liked "Jackson", Greg liked "Kobe". He had brain washed the girls to like the name Kobe too. I had said earlier that if he was born with dark curly hair, I'd call him Kobe. Well, he was born with dark, curly hair. (It all fell out shortly after and grew back stick straight and blond!) The family took a vote and "Kobe" won.

(2 weeks old)

So now we have our Kobe. He is so fun! He's our creative little guy and growing up so fast!

{pictures: Kobe (21 mo) & girls; Kobe's (2) favorite picture that Uncle Tim made of him; Kobe drew this person when he was about 2.5 years old; 3rd birthday; Kobe (3) with new baby brother Jackson; Being boys Kobe (4) & JackJack (1); Kobe (4) doing a little photo shoot of his own.}

People are just drawn to him. Girls of all ages are already crushing on him!?! Kids of all ages seem to be his friend. Last year (his was in Kindergarten) we'd go to school functions and as we walk down the halls there was a constant stream of kids saying, "Hi Kobe!" Boys 3 or 4 years older coming up to him to shoot the breeze. We are proud of him for being a good kid, a good friend, and a great member of our family. Presently he is obsessed- and I mean OBSESSED with creating, basketball, Webkinz, and Indiana Jones. That leads me to his birthday party...

The big party was on Saturday before General Conference. The theme he chose was Webkinz AND Indiana Jones. Oh boy! :) I have to say Jillie was up for the challenge. She sat down with Kobe and planned the party together. Jillie even ran the party for me! I just had to get everything together, decorate and then walk around taking pictures and cutting the cake.

Oh! The cake... Kobe drew the Indiana Jones cake he had in mind. The big boulder (his favorite part of the Indiana Jones movie), a crack across the top from the boulder, his Webkinz tiger snake on top of the cake with an Indiana Jones hat on it's head, his name in vines and leaves and the rest covered in leaves and vines. Well, I did what I could. He was pretty happy, except I should've checked the color of the tiger snake (oops! orange not yellow!) I also put a Lego Indiana Jones on instead of trying to figure out how to make a hat on a snake.

The party was planned to a "T"- with agendas posted around the house- just like on Webkinz- of the activities for the day.

{Jillie's schedule of activities for the day; Webkinz movie that Jillie made and did voice overs for. The video had Webkinz characters explaining the schedule of activities to the kids; painting fences game (variation of a game on Webkinz ); Webkinz tag; Indiana Jones musical chairs; the end of the treasure hunt- Jillie handing out the treasure; the party-goers and their Webkinz!}

Everyone had a great time- especially Kobe. He was so proud to show off his new "Wacky Zingo" Webkinz (from my folks)to each of his guests. He was excited to get so many nice presents. He is now the proud owner of 20 Webkinz! But he says he wants to buy one more because someone in his class has 21! He's counting his pennies!

Today is actually Kobe's birthday, but there wasn't a whole lot special going on- besides watching 4 hours of General Conference that is. Greg had to leave this morning for a business trip. :( The day was pretty low key for him, but the girls got our the red "You are Special" plate for dinner. They also asked for frosted brownies... so they could stack them 3 high for Kobe's special treat. Oh my. Well, it's a good way to make brownies and get rid of them fast so I don't eat any myself! :)

Happy Birthday Kobe! We love you!