18 and 2 and 6

Today is Matt's 18th birthday. 
My litlle chubby white haired baby brother is not so little anymore and I have no idea when that happened.  When Matt was born, I was 7 and I brought him as show and tell to my second grade classroom.  I remember that he was a drooly mess that day.  When he was a toddler, he always seemed to have ear infections and I can still smell the medicine that he took when I think about it.  One of our favorite games to play when we were little was dogs.  I was the owner and my three little siblings were my dogs.  Matt always picked the name Toe for himself.  During high school my nickname for him used to be Pookie, my friends called him Little Chico, and now I find myself always wanting to call him MattyPatty - I have no idea why.  I still have to remind myself sometimes that he isn't a little boy anymore.
When I asked him what he wanted for his 18th birthday, he said he wanted to smoke a cigar with his sister.  fat chance.  His second choice was dress shirt.  can do.

In 2 days, it will be MY birthday!  I am looking forward to my big day and to my birthday dinner with you girls on Sunday. 

And in 6 short days, my mom and I will fly to Copenhagen to begin our adventure in Sweden with Greta.  I am still feeling a little stressed because of the things left to take care of, but I am mostly feeling excited about the trip ahead.