Zubbas...Who would have thought?

This is the picture I always imagine when I think of Zubbas...or Uncle Justin, as we know him today. Isn't he gorgeous?

I adored this baby...as a matter of fact, the one thing I regret about having our kids so close together, is that none of them got to have a "Zubbas"...they were all too young to appreciate each other.



He said and did the cutest things. He loved music...some of his pre-school favorites: "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang and "A Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams Jr. (He called it "The Fork and the Knife song"...I think it comes from something about a switch blade knife?) He was fascinated with "The Dukes of Hazard" and the Godfather's Pizza commercials.



I used to feed him...and even after he was old enough to feed himself, sometimes I talked him into letting me feed him anyway...like my own living doll.



Come to think of it, as he got older I still treated him like a doll. I loved to buy him clothes and style his hair.

(A little Trivia: To this day, if Justin is with me, I absent-mindedly call him Troy and Troy, Justin. I think it is because before Troy, Justin was my most recent "baby" experience.)

During Justin's most recent visit, I was watching him walk ahead of me into the mall with my kids. He was showing them all his hip, "freestyle walking" tricks.

The inspiration for this post came washing over me...the picture of him as that fuzzy-headed baby went flashing through my mind...I couldn't have imagined then that he'd grow up to be SUCH a cool uncle...that my kids would adore him SO much, or that he'd be SO dang funny...but here he was!

I couldn't have imagined what a sweet husband he would be to his darling wife. To be honest, It's still hard for me to imagine him as an adult...and he's almost 30!

I started welling up...but sucked it up, as I did not wish to ruin the moment by being the un-cool, sentimental, weepy mom that I often am (luckily, it was dark).



Justin and Reese in WY back in '05



Justin doing his own Sarah Palin impersonation



He even shreds at "Dance Dance Revolution", how cool is that?

Justin and Brittani strike a pose on our way home from Starbucks

Yes, Justin is officially "Uber-Uncle"...but he will always be Zubbas to me!