Daniel's Birthday

Today was my nephew's 4th birthday! Daniel is not only Jacob's cousin, but also his best friend. Or as Jacob likes to say, his "little buddy", even though Daniel is 9 months older than he is. When these two boys greet each other, you'd think they'd been separated for weeks, when sometimes it has literally only been a matter of hours. Their eyes meet...Jacob yells, "Daniel!!"...Daniel yells, "Jacob!!" And then they meet each other halfway for an embrace or excited greeting. It's like one of those slow motion scenes in a romantic movie. Except they do nothing slowly. More like fast forward.
Tonight we celebrated Daniel's birthday at his house. Jacob was genuinely excited for Daniel while we sang to him. And when Daniel blew out his 4 candles all by himself, Jacob burst into applause & cheers.
It's easy to see how much they love each other. As I watched them open gifts together (Jacob thought it was his party, too) and play with the new birthday toys, I thought how lucky Jacob is to have another brother in Daniel. And to have his cousin/best friend living right up the street! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite old pictures (in chronological order) of these 2 cousins who look & act like brothers. They've both come a long way, and have been friends since the very beginning.

Jacob didn't realize he was about to get several "love pats" on his head.

One of my old favorites...Jacob was only 3 months old, and Daniel had just turned 1.

Kissing cousins.

Go Hokies & Wolfpack!

I wonder what they're talking about?

Jacob used to always make that face whenever he hugged someone.

"Guess who, Daniel? Go on, try. Bet you'll never guess."

"Step into our office and have a seat."

Pool buddies. Jacob is 1 month away from turning 2. Add 9 months to that to get Daniel's age.

Another of my favorites. Could they get any cuter?

Ah, the good ol' days when it was easier to get kids to sit down and pose for a picture.

"Eat it. Eat it!"

"Got anything good in here, Grandmom?"

Daniel always looks out for his cousins.

"1 Coke, 2 straws, please."

"Just fall back, Jacob. I promise I'll catch you. Even if it is by the head."

Going for a walk on the beach. Tricia & I loved this picture so much, we had it blown up & framed for Grandmom. Jacob was 15 months old, and Daniel was a day away from turning 2.

Love this picture. Not only do they look adorable, but I love the way Daniel is looking at Jacob.

Helping Granddad carve pumpkins.

Synchronized falling. Even their facial expressions are the same!

Kind of hard to tell who's who. Jacob's on the left.

See? Told you it's easy to see how much they love each other.


Thank you, Daniel, for being such a great cousin and friend to Jacob & Alex. We all love you very much! Happy Birthday!