CJ Turns 5!

When he was born he was so cute and had his eyes open about 23 hours a day. From day one, if I swaddled him he would wriggle until his arms were free.  If he went to sleep, we would sloooooooowly lay him in his bed, pause, frozen, holding our breath, then army crawl out of his room, and take ten minutes to close the door because if he heard one teeny tiny sound, it was over and he was up for the rest of the afternoon.  He never ever slept in his car seat.  I think that's why he's so smart. He took in so much life in all those awake hours - he was just so aware. 

Now this awesome FIVE year old wakes up every morning before 7:00, gets dressed, brushes his teeth and combs his hair before coming in to our room with a huge burst of energy to get the day started. We had to put an alarm clock in his room with big red numbers. It's 20 minutes slow... and we tell him he can't come out of his room until the first number is a seven. You better believe at 7:00 (his time, 7:20 our time) he's hopping into our room and within 10 seconds he and the dogs are hyper and ready to go play.

We know that CJ came into this world impatiently, when we weren't expecting him but on his own time.  He doesn't want to miss anything by sleeping. He knows what he wants, when he wants and isn't afraid to tell you. He is determined, smart and one of the greatest blessings I've ever been given. He challenges me to be a better, patient person every single day. I love how his little mind works, and when he wants to be (which is actually most of the time) he is so dang sweet... as long as he's not being teased or you're not making sense to him! His determination and sensitivity are qualities that I know will help him as an adult.

(He wanted a soccer cake with lots of candles on it)

For some reason I've been sad today seeing him turn five... it seems so old. He's no longer a toddler, he's a boy that is getting older, smarter and it's hard for me to say goodbye to the preschool years. I realize that the days are numbered where he still wants me to snuggle on the couch with him every day, hold my hand in the parking lot and kiss me goodbye at school. He's learning more things at school that challenge his innocence. It is very, very hard for me to accept the fact that in a few short months he'll have to leave my house EVERY DAY for school. I really, really wish I could freeze time today and keep my little boys little - FOREVER. Really, I'd be happy with that. I'll change Trey's diapers for the rest of his life if he could stay two forever!

I absolutely love the ages of my boys. I love our daily routines. I love our time together. I love seeing them play together - becoming better buddies every day. Most nights (we do have a few bad days here and there) I go to bed so happy because I've had such a fun day with my boys. And on those bad days I remind myself that when I was little, all I wanted was to have my own kids and to be home with them so I could give them the same fun, loving, safe childhood that I had. And I'm blessed beyond measure to be doing just that.