He keeps us laughing non-stop. He's crazy. He's weird. He's the sweetest little momma's boy. He is smart and makes us so proud. He's so determined and curious about everything - which also means he has a hard time obeying and listening to mom and dad. He's athletic. He's a total class clown and loves attention.
He loves to sing. His favorite right now is Book of Mormon Stories and Santa Claus is Coming to Town - both of which he sings pretty much non-stop but just adds in his own lyrics. He loves to be read to and loves pointing out letters and numbers as we read. He loves going on bike rides around the neighborhood. He loves kisses and hugs and tickles.
He has the most hilarious expressions of joy, surprise, excitement and fake pouting. His personality is unbelievable - he is absolutely full of life and little quirks and joy and craziness. He's so sweet when he apologizes... he repeats what he did wrong and then says he's sorry in the most genuine little voice and then kisses my cheek and hugs me. And as soon as I say "it's okay" he gets a huge grin on his face.
He's my best friend and I adore him.
Some highlights from this past year:
- He learned to go potty and it was such an easy experience I couldn't believe it! Knowing him, I thought it would be a nightmare. :)
- He learned to ride his balance bike! We just got him a regular one with pedals for his birthday and I can't wait to see how he does with it.
- We moved into a new house (post on that to come!) and a new neighborhood and he has done so well making new friends. Watching him play and interact with other kids is one of my favorite things.
- This past summer he took swim lessons that we got through Groupon - they were pretty lame, but he is absolutely obsessed with swimming! I seriously cannot wait to see what sports he does as he gets older.
- He memorized lots of songs, learned to identify letters of the alphabet, and loves to count objects. This year he is going to start preschool!
- This year for Halloween he was Finn the Human from a show called Adventure Time. He also sat on Santa's lap this year and looked much too old for my liking.
- He went camping for the first time and was in heaven! He had so much fun.
He's so full of love and is so good at reminding us of the things that really matter. Whenever we are not paying attention to him because we are on our phones or other "devices" he frantically shouts "Wake up Mommy! Wake up Daddy!" or if we're playing and I pull out my phone to check a text, he says "Put that back mommy, put that in your pocket!" It is such a sweet and often needed reminder that we need to wake up and enjoy these moments with our little boy.
Every night Chase lays down with Finn at bedtime and I lay down by him during naps. Just for a few minutes. We sing songs, cuddle, kiss each other's cheeks, or lately his favorite request is that we scratch his back. And without missing a beat he always pulls his shirt up so he can get a better scratch. :)
Today he told me I looked like a princess. Usually he tells me I'm handsome. He loves my hair and when he's sad or scared it's the first thing he grabs for comfort.
He LOVES his cousins and would follow them everywhere if he could.
His prayers are adorable and hilarious. He always, always asks, "please bless us to be nice and not hit" or if it's a blessing for the food, "please bless the food to be nice and not hit." And he's grateful for all kinds of things, like fire and batman and toys and RVCA.
He adores his grandparents - Grandma, Grandpa, Dude, and Grandma Child. He and my dad especially have such a sweet relationship. My dad loves to be a super hero with him - and to him. :)
My precious little boy, you mean the world to us. You teach us patience, kindness, how to laugh and have joy in the smallest things, how to forgive, humility, selflessness and a million others things that have made us so much better than we could ever be without you. You will do amazing things. People will love to be around your sweet, joyful spirit and will follow your example. Thank you for choosing us to be your parents. Thank you for making us smile and laugh every day. Thank you for always reminding us of the things that are important in this life. We love you more than you'll know until you have a little rascal of your own. Just know that you will always be our little boy and we will love you forever and always.
