Top Ten Orville Moments

Today is Orville's tenth birthday. It seems like just yesterday that I saw him for the first time via ultrasound. He kicked at the scope so hard that we could see the outline of his foot in the skin covering my tummy! The sonographer told me that day to prepare myself. "This one's a corker!" she said.

Over the course of ten years of motherhood, one thing has become apparent.

She was right.

In honor of my little corker turning double digits, I have compiled a list of his most interesting moments. His top ten moments to be exact. As you read, you'll laugh. You may cry, and you'll definitely understand why I love my life as the mother of a corker.

10. When I came home from the hospital with Wilbur, Orville was only 13 months old. He was not really talking yet, except to say "ma-ma" and "da-da" and "doh". We're still not sure what that was about. Nonetheless, "doh" was the phoneme of choice for quite some time. Despite his young age and limited vocabulary, he managed to coin a term for his baby brother. He would often go to wherever Wilbur was, lay his head on Wilbur's shoulder, and say "ahhhh". Anytime someone visited us, he would introduce himself as "doh" and his brother as "ahhhh".

I can hear him saying "ahhh" every time I look at this picture.

9. Around the time Wilbur was big enough to sit up, Orville would have him sit down in the "school" area of their bedroom. It was a place where I had created a few reading spots and had painted the lower half of the wall with chalkboard paint. Above this paint, I had placed alphabet decals. Orville would point to the "A" decal and say, "Wilbur, dis is A. It day, 'aaa'." Then Wilbur would repeat, "aaaaaaaaa." He would continue, "Wilbur, dis is B. It day, 'buh'." Wilbur echoed, "buh-buh-buh-buh-buh." And so on….

I am not sure if I taught Wilbur to read or if Orville did.

8. His first complete sentence was "Nohnie (what he calls my mother) house go now." His second complete sentence was "Car Gonic (Sonic) go now." You can see where his priorities were at this stage of his life.

Orville with his dear Nohnie

7. When he was three, he insisted on buying me the present pictured below for Mother's Day. I carried it proudly anywhere I went... until the strap mysteriously broke.

I had to edit this picture since the bikini-clad woman at the bottom breaks the Olive Plants rating standards. My apologies. Please keep in mind that he was only three!

6. When he was five years old, we took him to the movie theater on the opening day of The Polar Express. Every seat was occupied. At some point in the movie, a ghost turns to the audience and asks, "Do you believe in ghosts?" Orville took this question quite seriously. He jumped from his seat faster than his dad or I could react. He pointed toward the screen, looked that ghost squarely in the eyes, and proclaimed at the top of his lungs, "NO I DON'T!!!! But I do believe in the Holy Ghost. He is God and He is good!"

NO I DON'T!

5. The next year we started bird watching. One day he came running into the kitchen yelling, "Mommy! I just saw a roadrunner!!" Because we live in Georgia, I doubted his spotting accuracy but went to the place where he had allegedly seen this bird and took a good look around. It was a brown thrasher, our state bird.

I can see how he might think that!

4. At seven-years-old, he recited Patrick Henry's infamous speech.

3. One day while at the library for story hour, the children's librarian asked, "What do mommies do?" Preschool-aged Orville promptly raised his hand. When called upon, he replied, "They cook good food and give lots of love." Can you guess his love languages?

I'll grow it, Mommy. You cook it!

2. On the day he was born, as I held him in my arms for the first time, he tried so hard to lift his head. He managed to raise it just enough to glance into my eyes for a second. I was already in love but that, my friends, sealed the deal.



1. Just last night, he fell into my arms and gave me a big squeeze followed by a kiss on the cheek. He definitely knows my love language.



Orville, everyday with you has been a wonderful adventure, from the moment you kicked at the scope during the ultrasound to the time last night that I received my last hug from a nine-year-old you.

I love you with all my heart and am blessed to be your mother.

Happy Birthday!