I suppose it's time to introduce my favorite middle child, Johnny.  Oops.  Did I say favorite?  A total accident.  Of course, I don't have a favorite.  I love all of my children equally.  It's just that he's just the nicest, least taxing, most giving one. Here, you see me trying to suck his sugar life force right out of his body.  This was a while back - like 10 years ago.  And even though he is now 13 years old, he still gives me big smooches like this at least ten times a day and tells me he loves me unprompted.  How lucky am I?  

It's taken me awhile to post an introduction for him because I tend to like to be light and somewhat humorous in my posts, but I'm having a hard time coming up with any way to tease about him.  He's that doggone sweet.  He's not the sarcastic, ornery, demanding, fault-finding type of person that the rest of our clan is, myself included.  I know he wasn't adopted so I have no explanation for his aberrant behavior.  Yes, I do.   He is a gift from God.  And apparently, God decided to slip in a sweet one for my sanity.  He is the sweet creamy center of the oreo cookie.

The only real trouble he has ever caused me was to be a breech baby which caused me to have a C-section.  Big deal.  After that, he was a piece of cake.  I remember him at around 10 weeks old just smiling to beat the band.  Constantly smiling.  I didn't know what was wrong with him.  As a baby, my older son had cried a LOT and was pretty much wanting constant attention.  And here sat this baby just content and smiling.  I was a little suspicious that I had taken home the wrong baby from the hospital.  Later, I learned that he was just genuinely laid back, happy and easy to please.  WHAT A CONCEPT!  Unfortunately, it was just this kind of thinking that caused me to think a third child would be a good idea...

Here he is nowadays:

Still cute. Still sweet as sugar.  May the teenage demons never overtake his tender heart.

Here is Johnny's All-Time Favorite Recipe :

Trust me, it's worth the time and effort.  Mama Mia!