The Adventures of the Johnson Clan: Dear Maddix,

As a baby Maddix, you eased us in by being a sweetheart, until you were about 3 months old, then we had a few very ROUGH months between a sleeping strike and projectile vomiting, but you still were the best thing that we'd ever done.

From day one you've been on the go, always interested in learning, exploring, and being apart of anything the adults were doing. You never cared for baby toys, and the one thing you REALLY wanted was the one thing you were NOT allowed to touch, the laptop. So for your first bday we got you your own, per say.

Did you know, by the time you were 2 you'd visited 7 countries, were living in Poland, could understand simple sentences in Polish, and would watch Disney Dvd's in German. My favorite part though, is you were the only person there for me during those long hours Dad had to be away in class or studying. It was you and Dad and I taking on Europe!

When we returned from Europe to add a new brother, Aaron to our family. You quickly became the man of the house as Daddy returned to Europe and lived away from us for 8 months while finishing classes; you missed your Dad TERRIBLY, but you grew so much and became and excellent helper to me as I adjusted to having you and new baby brother, Aaron.

By your 4th birthday, we were living in your 4th home, daddy was still living away, and we were preparing to once again move, this time to New York to join daddy and finally be a family again. Honestly, for as often as you've had to face change, I think you handle it incredibly well, even though I know it's rough on you.

You have lived in Utah, Poland, New York, and Iowa. You've been to 17 states, visited several monuments, been a City-Boy who loved the subways, as well as a country-boy who loves to climb trees. Your career goals have ranged from working for the embassy and living in France with your family, to playing football for Notre Dame and becoming a judge and then someday President. You lately decided you wanted to build robotic body parts... added on also developing weapons/defense systems for the the military... and realized you basically wanted to be Tony Stark :) and go to school at Harvard.

And now you're back to wanting to be a judge, while having graduated from Harvard; needless to say, you've always dreamed big!

This year for your 7th birthday we began the morning with breakfast in bed (as you requested: frutopian waffles). It was such a rainy day that you spent the morning watching cartoons (which you LOVED). Since we couldn't play at the park with friends we instead drove around your bday cupcakes... one thing to remember, Maddix: Cotton candy + humidity and rain = crystalized clumps, instead of fluffy masses a top the cupcakes, ha ha; you still loved them!

You chose McDonalds for lunch.

In the afternoon we had "Gma Susan" come over for presents, cupcakes, and "Happy Bday's."

You played your new Mario Kart game with Dad and Aaron then had pizza for dinner.

You reported that it was a great day:)