Happy 4th Birthday

My dearest Grayson,

Today you are four years old. And like you say, next year you will be five. Apparently you didn't get the memo to stop growing up so quickly.

On this day, I want to remember all the little things that make you, you. I want to remember you RIGHT now because the you I know today will be different in just a short while.

I want to remember how you say, "Mom, I have to tell you something." And then you proceed to ask a question. More often than not that question is whether or not you can have or do something...

I want to remember how you LOVE applesauce.

I want to remember how you often combine your memory verses to form your very own unique Bible Verse such as, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them. And self control."

I want to remember that when you get hurt, you try and pretend you aren't. And then a few seconds later you crawl into my lap, snuggle your head into my shoulder, and cry.

I want to remember your facial expressions. Man you know how to play a crowd.

I want to remember that you consistently ask if one of us will go under the "big bucket" with you. You are referring to the water bucket at the Wisconsin Dells Water Parks. You apparently can't wait to go back.

I want to remember...

Currently, you have a few obsessions. You recently started asking for Timberwolves things. You have never even seen a basketball game in your life, but your brother got to attend one, and now you are their biggest fan. Same with Ninja Turtles. Griffin likes Ninja Turtles, so now so do you. Jake and the Neverland Pirates is your own obsession, though. And man, you make a cute pirate.

One of my favorite things about you is that you LOVE to cuddle. Unfortunately you only ask to cuddle for a few moments, and then you are all done and ready to take on a new adventure. You like kisses, especially butterfly ones, and you love it when I lay with you in your bed. I smile, and you scrunch up your nose and smile back. My heart melts each and every time you do this. You will also randomly walk over to me and pucker your lips for a kiss. I also love that you are stubborn like me. Don't get me wrong; there are days when you drive me bananas, but you are a boy who knows what he wants, and I love watching you do whatever it takes to get it.

When I asked you what you wanted to do this summer, you said swimming, t-ball, and Holly Johnson's house. It's a good thing we plan on doing Play Net together with the Johnson Family, so your summer wishes might actually come true. You truly do enjoy being around other people, and you are NOT shy. You go up to anybody and anyone to tell them about what you are thinking or what you have discovered. A couple of weeks ago you walked around telling people you thought their eyes were beautiful. Currently you LOVE going up to anyone to say, "Guess What? Shake your butt (or if we are lucky, Chicken But)!"

Gluten Free eating is going well, but you still have your moments. Sometimes you refuse to eat anything; other times you eat like a champ. I hear that's normal kid behavior, though, so I am not going to worry :) Just the other day you finally tried a Cutie for the first time. Your face was priceless, and you abhorred it, but hey, you tried it. Gluten Free pizza from Brunswick Zone is probably your favorite food. Next to gum. If you can call that food.

Bedtime is a STRUGGLE right now. You are phasing out the need to nap, so when you do, you stay up WAY too late. On days you don't nap, you fall asleep almost instantly. You also don't like your bed for some reason. I catch you sleeping on the floor, in the hallway, or on our couch. Not sure what that is all about.

This summer you will go to the same Summer Preschool that Griffin went to. You currently write your name as though you are dyslexic. You get all the letters in, just not quite in the right order. You will occasionally tell me you wish you had an H and an L in your name, so you tack those on the end sometimes too. Like I said. Stubborn. You do like to read, but you have to be the one to initiate it. You especially enjoy listening to your brother read to you. I hope to capture those reading moments for years to come.

On Friday, we celebrated you birthday with friends. When I asked you what your favorite part about the party was, you said, "When my friends sang Happy Birthday to me!" I asked you later if there was anything else you wanted for your birthday, and you said, "Another Ninja Turtle Truck so Griffin can play with one too." You two can drive each other crazy, but at the end of the day, you both have the other one's back. I pray this continues throughout your whole life.

I love you little man. Your zeal for life and your many facial expressions bring a smile to my face daily. I wish I could stop time for a little bit, but I can't. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to teach you how to live the right way that I forget to simply love you. Love you with my whole heart and nothing less. So today, I pause. I pause to just love you and remember when you turned four...almost as vividly as I remember the day you were born.