All the birthdays

There are a lot of birthdays in our family this week: my brother David, my nephew Andrew, my Grandma, and Grandpa Frank. Did I miss anyone? I probably missed someone. It's a busy week for birthdays!

David's birthday was on Monday. He was always such a good big brother. He's been there for me from the very beginning...

My dad, my brother, and me

I'm so glad that I got to go through school with him by my side! Even though we haven't lived near each other in many, many years, I'm always glad when I get to see him!

Pouty me with both of my brothers

Monday was also Grandpa Frank's birthday. He just turned 89!

He's on the right, if you couldn't tell

I realized this year that I have known Grandpa Frank for thirteen years now, which perhaps doesn't seem like very long but it's almost as long as I knew my own grandpa (my mom's dad, who passed away when I was fourteen)! 

Me on my grandpa's lap with my cousin Michelle and my brother David

Realizing this made me miss my grandpa and wish that he could have been blessed with such longevity and good health that he could have met my children here on earth. But, he was sick for my whole life and even if he were alive today he would be 103 so that's pretty old.

It also made me think about how much I appreciate Grandpa Frank and his good humour. He's every bit as cheerful now as he appears in that picture of himself as a toddler above. He always wants to know how we're doing and loves telling stories to the kids and showing off his planes and trains.

I think my kids are so lucky that they've gotten to know some of their great-grandparents as well as they have.

My grandma's birthday was on Tuesday. She would have been 86 this year. I've been delving into her side of my family tree a lot lately, trying to figure out who's who and digging up a few stories here and there. I really need to visit with Uncle Tom again to pick his brain (not that I've even transcribed the interview I did with him before her funeral in 2015...but at least I know where it is, so...).

My Grandma Layton in 1940

And lastly, there's Andrew. His birthday is tomorrow and he'll be a legal adult. Suddenly, it seems, the majority of nieces and nephews on my side of the family are all grown up—quite literally. 

Andrew with Alexander, a few months ago

Just last week (around the time Emily and her little cuties were visiting) Miriam asked me, "So, do we just not have any cousins on your side of the family, or what?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You have lots of cousins on my side of the family. There's Rosie and..."

"Oh, yeah! Rosie! I keep forgetting if she's my cousin or my aunt..." she said.

Yeah. That's because Miriam is just about as close in age to Rosie as I am and sometimes it's hard for me to remember whether Rosie is my sister or my niece. (We won't even speak about how Rosie and Josie feel about this). 

Anyway, Andrew marks 5/9 nieces and nephews hitting adulthood on my side of the family (not factoring in my children, who are hot on their heels). How is it that just yesterday I was holding Andrew as a teensy baby and now he's a big, hulking man holding my teensy baby?