My Sweet Soyboy,
You are one of the great loves of my life. I am so amazed each day at how sweet and good-natured you are. You are quick to say, "Sorry!", smile, and forget about it. It is a lesson I am learning from you - to stay in the moment and return back to joy always.
Their is a light that comes into Daddy's eyes when he sees you at the end of a long day. I may or may not admit to being a little jealous that he is so excited to see you, but I understand. When you see his car pull up you squeal excitedly, "Daddy's HOME!" and rush to the door to let him in. I can see how happy Daddy is when you rest your head on his right shoulder and wrap your little arms around his neck, squirming just a bit to get in the right spot. It is THE hug. The one that you have shared so willingly since birth, and I hope that you hug that way until we all realize it's getting a little awkward (sixteen years old?).
I love all the cute, quirky things about you, the nuances only a mommy has the time to observe. You always have to jump off that last step. Always. The minute you put on your new, red, birthday shoes you immediately went to stand on something to see how well they could jump.
You spend most of your free time driving your cars back and forth along our windowsill. There is a certain tilt to your head and your brow furrows in concentration. You watch the wheels carefully, calculating and observing something as it goes along. When you reach the end of the windowsill, you create some crazy scenario that involves shouting, a car flying, crashing, and some reconciliation. Then, with a zoom, you run it back to the other side, tilt your head and start the process again.
Mealtime is always a mystery with you. Some days you'll put down whatever I give you, other days you pick and push it to the side in frustration. Whatever the food, it is always improved with a dash of Dinosaur Train. Mommy is mean and limits your screen time to one show each, and the minute I set you down after changing your diaper you are yelling on your way down the hall, "Milk! I-o-sore train!"
Oh, but the mealtime fun doesn't end there. You are the prayer warden at mealtimes. If someone is not folding their hands or arms to your liking you will yell throughout the entire prayer "FOLD ARMS!" You throw both your hands up and yell "ME!" whenever you want to say the prayer. Sometimes you get stuck on the word Jesus, and say it over and over again. But that's okay, I don't think He minds.
One of your gifts is a great sense of humor. You have a knack for knowing when the best time is to throw in your funny face, or make a shocked expression. You also love to randomly full on tackle Lily to the ground, but quickly run to Mommy when you're reminded that she is still bigger and stronger than you (which will change one day, I promise). One thing that we noticed right from the start is you have a great, deep, belly laugh. It really is contagious and makes us all smile. And your chicken-wing running arms always get Daddy and I giggling. You tuck them way up high in your armpits, duck your head a few inches, and then run as fast as you can.
Besides your great sense of humor and dashing good looks, you are smart too! The other day you caught me by surprise when you were following a song and counted up to 14 by yourself. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor and bust out some flashcards (the teacher in me came out). In just two days you picked up the names of various shapes and now run around pointing them out to me all over the house. You pretend to read too, picking up Lily's flash cards and bringing them to me and telling me "EEEE" (okay, you're usually pointing at a word like "sam", but I've got some momma pride).
Bedtime is one of my favorite times with you. I get so excited when it's my turn to put you down to sleep. It's always "Go Dog Go", then you jump off my lap with speed to run and get the next story from your bookshelf before we can say it's time for bed. You discovered that books are easy to put away if you put them in backwards, and that's how most are on your shelf right now. After we read the stories, we turn out the lights and you request the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" followed by "Ild of God and sent me ear" (I am a child of God). Then you turn, and tuck your head into that special spot on my right shoulder and let your body relax. I get the only kiss of the day from you at that point (if I'm lucky) and then we wind up my old, childhood teddy bear, tuck your blanky and bunny into your arms and you yell, "OF YOU!" (Love you!).
I of you too. Thank you for choosing me Sawyer. It is a privilege to belong to you.
Love, Mommy
