Happy Birthday Granddaddy!

Watch...Jake is gonna make this ball disappear!

Ready....

He blew it away!!!

Where did it go?

"Gone gone!"
Is it behind Jake's ear?

"Ta da!"

"Did you see that Mom? I made it disappear like 'Di Daddy' does!!"

Jake has become quite the magician these days thanks to my Granddaddy! You see, my Granddaddy has a trick where he can make things "disappear" by "blowing them away," and Jake just loves for Granddaddy to do it. Granddaddy says Jake is the only one out of all 5 of his grandchildren and all 7 of his great-grandchildren to actually know where Granddaddy makes things disappear to...there's no fooling my little magician! Anyways, Jake has become obsessed with Granddaddy's little trick and does it all the time! In fact, we were playing on the playground a couple of days ago and Jake met a new little girlfriend; well, in an effort to show-off and win her over, Jake the Magician showed her his little magic trick. It was so cute (even though the Mama had no clue what my child was doing), but it was just funny that that is what he chose to do to win her over.

Thanks, Granddaddy, for all the little things you do for us (like your magic tricks) that leave such a lasting impression on us...that is what makes you so special!

Here are some other things about my Granddaddy that I will never forget:

• "S-T-zero-P"
• The time we went to see the "Big hole in the ground"
• The rides on the back of his scooter
• The tire swing he made for me
• Dancing together at my wedding
• "I bet you don't know my secret"
• How he still calls me "Beth Marie"
• Taking Jake on his first lawn-mower ride

Of course, I could probably think of a hundred other things, but these things will always make me think of my Granddaddy. Happy 83rd Birthday, Granddaddy (*today and tomorrow)! I'm sorry we can't be there like we were last year, but we're thinking about you on this special day! We love you more than you'll ever know!

*Granddaddy actually has two birthdays- the doctor and his birth certificate say he was born 1/27/1927 but his Mama said he was born 1/28/1927. He usually celebrates on the 28th, but I think he enjoys having both recognized. After all, how many people do you know have 2 birthdays?