Hesperia native Joshua Elvert is getting ready to graduate from California State University, Long Beach with a degree in biochemistry.

He’s also preparing to celebrate his birthday the way every 6-year-old dreams: bygoing to Chuck E. Cheese.

Breanna Llamas is a middle-schooler in Hesperia, but her friends spent the last couple of days decorating banners that read “Happy 3rd Birthday.”

Llamas and Elvert are two of an estimated 240 Victor Valley residents who were born on leap day, Feb. 29.

Though they all have their own system for deciding when to celebrate during off-years and how to celebrate leap years like this one, there seems to be one thing in common: “Leap babies” make the most of their unusual day of birth.

“Normally we just do a little family thing,” said Breanna’s mother, Patricia Llamas. She said they celebrate Breanna’s birthday on March 1 during non-leap years, just so that it is spread out more from her siblings’ birthdays.

“But this year she is having a humongous garage party,” Patricia said, “because it is her real birthday.”

Breanna really enjoys being a leap-day baby, Patricia said.

“It makes her feel more special.”

Breanna especially enjoys her birthday at carnivals, where they have games to guess your age. Using her leap-year age, Llamas said she always wins.

Breanna’s family also has some fun with the play on her age. Patricia said Breanna’s four older brothers tell her she is not allowed to date until she’s 16 in leap years.

Joshua’s father, Chris Elvert, also enjoys teasing his son about his age.

“I told him on his 16th birthday I’d buy him his first car. He’ll be 64.”

Chris said they usually celebrate Joshua’s birthday on Feb. 28, rounding down since he was born before noon on leap day. This year they’ll celebrate on March 1, since it falls on a Saturday.

Joshua further defied the odds by having a cousin, Keith, born on the same day.

"Someone once worked out the chances of having two cousins born on the same leap day," Elvert said. “I think it came out to 1.6 million to one.”

Amazingly, locals Linda McKiernan and her cousin, Norene Rand, were also both born on the same leap day and in the same hospital. The cousins will both be turning “15” this year.

McKiernan said she and Rand always celebrate their shared birthday together, usually on their “unbirthday” of Feb. 28th, since their birthday is in February.

Joeseph Sena, of Victorville, doesn’t quite understand the whole leap year concept.

Sena was born on leap day in 2004. When his mother, Salena Reyes, tells him he is celebrating his “first” birthday this year, he tells her, “No, I’m four!”

Reyes said they usually celebrate for Sena on Feb. 28, in a double-party on her 3-year-old daughter Salena’s real birthday.

This year, each sibling gets their own party for the first time.

Little Salena is pleased, saying, “We need to get our own birthday.”

BROOKE EDWARDS Staff Writer

February 28, 2008 - 3:20PM

• If there were no leap years, after 500 years, we would be celebrating Christmas in August.

• The odds of being born on a leap day are one in 1,461 according to The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies.

• There are roughly 208,000 leap babies in the United States and 4.5 million in the world.

Why does leap year exist?

It actually takes the earth nearly six hours more than 365 days to rotate around the sun each year. Adding an extra day to the calendar year every four years compensates for this fact.