The last one is for the first one.

Birthdays that is. Today is Dan's 23rd Birthday. Luckily, he hates birthdays, has done since he was 10, every year we would ask him what he wanted to do and he would say " stay home and be bored" and he meant it. He doesn't tell anyone when his birthday is ( so I just wrote on his Face Book page! ) he ever wants anything and would rather we don't even mention it.

I say luckily because dear life, are we sick of birthdays in this house? Happy Bir...yeah, yadda yadda, same old same old. Sophie's OK because her birthday is in march but the rest if us, from July 24th -August 25th, all of us crammed in there, one after the other.

Dan was planning on coming down again today but then went to play golf ( I am so ashamed that a child of mine would do such a thing, I certainly didn't raise him that way) half the day was gone and I suspect a night out with his friends seemed a tad more exciting to him.

We ate his birthday dinner and dessert for him though, Gammon steaks, roast potatoes, green beans and parsley sauce with a choice of Lemon meringue, chocolate cheesecake or strawberry cheesecake..or some of each. Eli ( of course) chose chocolate and Lemon meringue. HE does this thing where he chooses, eats it all but a mere mouthful and then says " Atcherly, I hate dat, I didn't like it at all, I changed my mind, I want THAT one instead" It is so predictable and cute that he gets away with it every time.

Anyway. Daniel, it's his day, time to say stuff about him that I may not have said already.

He was the most delicious baby, I was completely in love with him from the first minute I saw his tiny face.

Seth is like Dan, pixie face and not a scrap of fat on him.

Dan was smoochy and funny, sweet and kind from the very beginning. White blond hair and gappy teeth. He appointed himself as my keeper and looked out for me until he was sure H was doing a good job.

It always amazes me that I have 6 children and feel differently for all of them. Each one of them is different and yet similarities show up often. Dan and Seth, Jordan and Isaac and Eli and himself. Seth and Sophie have many similarities too (but we try to ignore those!)

It's a strange thing to be a mother of a grown man. I don't believe it usually, I'm not sure how or when that happened. I just know that I am incredibly proud to be the mother of THIS grown man.

Happy Birthday Dan, whether you like it or not, Mum x