FIVE

Dear Mr. R-

You are FIVE today.  That is a big number.  You are a boy, not a little one any more, but a BOY.

I want you to know that Mommy (How much longer will you call me that?) is so so so proud of you.  

I'm proud of how you play, how you dance, and how you write.  

I'm proud of how you are a helper in preschool.

I'm proud of how social you are - how you love to meet new people, and make fast friends quickly.  

I'm proud of how you can ride a bike with no training wheels.

I'm proud of how you are learning to handle your feelings.  How you are beginning to use your words to express yourself.  And how you are working to be a better big brother to Lady A.

And your art! Oh, your art!

A skirt inspired by How to Train Your Dragon's Astrid
above. Popsicle sticks, marker and glued-on "rubies"!

I love that you could spend every moment creating and designing. You are inspired by everything!  I love your drawing and no one, I mean no one, is better at making stuff out of paper and tape! You see possibility in every object - from the tops of dish soap bottles to yogurt cups to seashells.   And I love how you soldier on, insisting that you know EXACTLY what you are talking about when no one else understands the vision in your head.

May you always be this way.

Recently I've been looking back at your baby photos, remembering my chubby little guy who's morphed into a lean, wiry boy.  Remembering toddler who killed my back as I held his upstretched arms to help him walk, to the boy who can now run like the wind.  Every now and then I catch a glimpse of you and that sweet baby face is still there, the face I looked at for the first time five years ago today and felt such a huge swell of love I didn't know how my heart could hold it all.  

And your smile makes me feel that way still. 

I've been looking back at photos of tummy time, when I could place you down on the floor on a blanket and you couldn't go far. For photo sessions, my mommy buddies and I used to prop you guys up on the couch, trying to snap pictures before someone toppled over.  We'd also lay our beautiful babies down on the floor and watch you kids wave your limbs around, swooping in just before another child got his eye poked out.  

I've looked at the playdates, the trips to the beach, to the zoo, to shows, to the park, to Uncle Harry's farm, to museums and just hangin' at home. 

I've gone through the photos and videos of so many firsts, knowing that so many more firsts are on their way.

And I can't wait.  But actually I can, because it has gone so fast.  Before I know it you'll be taller than I am and exploring the world on your own. You'll be closer to being a man, the man I know you want to be RIGHT NOW.  

I need just a little more time with my boy, okay? 

I love you, kiddo.  I love who you are each and every day.  

You've made me happier than I ever thought possible.  

We have so much more to learn, to create, and to do. And if the next five years are even half magical as the first, we'll be the luckiest people in the whole world.  

Happy Birthday, my little man.

Happy Birthday!