I blinked . . .

. . . and then he was five. The critterboy turned five on Thursday. It is safe to say that I've been a little emotional about this milestone. During our struggles with infertility, if you had asked me if I'd ever have a child at all, I would have laughed in your face. Then along came my sweet baby boy. He was born too early and was much too small (click HERE to get the full scoop) and we watched him fight for his life as we helplessly looked on and prayed. To imagine him at 5 years old then, well, I just wanted him to come home . . . we would worry about him growing up later. And here we are. Later.

We have an amazing little man. He challenges us everyday to be better parents and better people in general. He is sensitive, caring, funny, smart (some say gifted, but I'm not into labels, so I'm not going there . . .), loving, and FULL of energy. He talks all. the. time. Things like "awesommmmme!" and "yesssssss!" are heard often. He says the sweetest things when people need to hear them most. Like the time he walked up to a sales clerk and said "Helloooo, gorgeous!" or the time he told and elderly woman who appeared to be having a bad day "You have beautiful eyes." The smiles he brings to the faces of everyone around him make my heart happy. He loves Jesus and loves to sing about Him. He knows all of the words to "Big House" and makes up his own songs like the one that goes like this: "Praise the Loo--orrrdddd" that he sings at the top of his lungs while playing anything he can find that resembles a guitar. We rock out to theHouseFM in the car everyday, and when he hears "our music" as he calls it, when we're out and about he gets really excited! He is a deep thinker--you can almost see his wheels turning as he ponders things like "When I die, will I go to Heaven?", "Why are some people not nice to other people?", "How does Jesus have so many kids?" (meaning all of us who love Him) and "Why does my cereal get soggy in milk?".

It's an amazing blessing to be his mom. He's my best little buddy and I enjoy every (well, most!) moment with him. I am so blessed to be part of his journey through life, and am a better person for being his mommy. In the fall, he will begin Pre-K. This will mean a change of everything he knows--daycare, friends, schedule, etc. While I know it will be harder on me than him, I can't help but worry about the transition. Knowing my wild man, though, he'll be just fine, and before you know it, he'll be in high school. I'd better get another box of tissues before I start thinking about that . . .

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. I love you more than you'll ever know!