News : Leap Day birthdays: Area residents share their thoughts as they celebrate today

Michelle Erickson celebrated her "8th" birthday on Leap Day with lunch with her kids at school.

Leap Day Birthday: Michelle Sutton Erickson celebrates with sons Keegan and Kade.

Trish, Sharon (who has a Leap Day birthday) and Betty with photo of their mom, Harriet Short.

Short sisters: Sharon Hannaford, Betty Thorsvig of Vinton and Patricia Lewis

Vinton native Michelle (Sutton) Erickson is celebrating her 8th birthday today, with lunch at her children's school.

Kevin Eikamp is celebrating his 16th birthday with his daughter.

Betty Thorsvig's sister, Sharon Short Hannaford of Illinois, is also celebrating her birthday for the 16th time.

All three of these people have Leap Day birthdays.

"This is my best birthday ever," says Michelle, a 1998 Vinton-Shellsburg graduate who has moved from Vinton to Swisher since her last birthday. "I am now on Facebook, and I have received more birthday wishes through Facebook and text messages and phone calls than any other birthday."

Michelle has been featured in local newspapers in every one of her first seven birthdays.

"Several of my friends asked me if I was going to be in the paper this year," she said.

In addition to moving from Vinton to Swisher, Michelle has also changed her work status to part-time at Mercy and spends the rest of her time as stay-at-home mother.

"I am going to spend the day shopping with my mom, then have lunch with my kids at Prairie Heights School," she said. "On Friday I am having a night out with the girls. This has been a week-long celebration."

Michele's sons, Keegan, 6, and Kade, 4, are old enough to understand the uniqueness of their mother's birthday.

"They have been dancing and singing around the house about how today is my birthday," she says.

Michelle says she loves having a Leap Day birthday.

"I think it’s awesome," she said. "I know my kids get a kick out of it."

Michelle's younger brother, Brant Corcran, a VSHS senior, has been bragging about being older than his sister for years.

"Last night he posted on his Facebook page about my 8th birthday," she says. "We all have so much fun with it. This has been the best year ever for my birthday."

And there is another benefit: Nobody ever forgets her birthday.

Kevin Eikamp's 16th

"A lot of people think it's a sad thing that I only have a real birthday every four years, but I always thought it was a special deal," said Eikamp, who is spending the morning at his office at Eikamp Insurance in Dysart before having lunch with his daughter in Cedar Rapids.
While his 2012 birthday does not include any large plans, Eikamp said that friends and relatives have gathered in larger numbers for his 10th and 15th birthdays.

"My birthdays are few and far between, but they are always good times," he said. "I am meeting my daughter for a nice lunch today."

A family with several 'special birthdays'

Thorsvig, of Vinton, recalls growing up in a house full of children who were born on special days.

"I was born on Memorial Day. My younger sister on Mother's Day. But, my oldest sister was born on Leap Year," she said.
The year Sharon was 16 (her 4th Leap Year birthday), her family threw a surprise party on Feb. 29. But most years, says Betty, the family celebrated Sharon's day on Feb. 28.
"It was fun teasing her that she was younger than she really was. We all thought it was cool being born on 'special days,'" she adds.