another year older

well my son turns 7 today. i can't believe it. time has gone by so fast. i thought the first year he was born had a lot of "firsts" in it. you know the first time he rolled over, slept through the night, ate solid foods and crawled. i thought i might not see as many milestones in the years to come as i did that first year. however, this year has proven me wrong. i didn't see it coming. it was all the milestones of my first baby becoming a true boy - not toddler - but a boy. **sigh**

much earlier this year he learned how to tie his shoes. this was so nice. you mothers who are still putting your kids shoes on and tying them for them know how nice it would be if you could just say, "go put your shoes on" and then do nothing else.

he learned how to ride his bicycle this year. the officer had tried several times with him to teach him, but just one day - he got it. he was off and riding. there was no stopping him.

he lost his first tooth. he had cousins stay the night. all evening they tried to pull his tooth. cousin a did the deed. she twisted it and out it popped. little blood. my son was so excited.

he got his first pocketknife when we went on vacation to colorado this summer. it was a big deal for him that the officer thought he was "old enough" to have a pocketknife. that's what he had heard for more than a year, "son when you get "old enough" i will get you a pocketknife." he has taken great care of it.

he has been taking swimming lessons most of the year. while his sister has stayed in the beginners 1 class, he has moved up. he has learned how to swim. he can't swim long distances but he can now jump into the pool and get back to the edge without assistance and without his life jacket.


he got his blue belt in tae kwon do. he has been doing it for almost two years now. he has not tested every time they have tested because he knows he's not ready. however, he takes tae kwon do seriously and enjoys it. he has four more belt levels he has to achieve before he is a black belt. if he keeps it up, he will be a black belt before he is 9.

he camped out for the first time this year. his technical first time was in our backyard, but the officer also took him a couple of times to a local koa. he loved it.


he went to his first baseball game this year. we ate at earls and went to a redhawks game. he was interested in catching a foul ball until he heard one slam onto the metal roof over our head.

he learned how to ride his dirtbike. i think this one scared me the most. it's the one that has been talked about the most in our household. well i mean the officer talked about riding dirtbikes with our son before he was born. he learned to ride a couple of months ago and loves getting to ride with his dad.

this isn't really a milestone but it was something that was highly anticipated in our household - the lego store grand opening. we went with some sweet friends who stood in lines with us for hours. it was worth it. it was everything my son had wished.

man it's been quite a year. i've loved it. i've loved seeing my son grow and go through all the things he has done. he was so small when he was born, but has grown into quite the boy. God has blessed us tremendously with our son.

i love him. i love his sense of humor - which is a little off the wall like mine.

i feel this picture might need explaining - we got a medium-sized stuffed bear that was wearing a harley davidson outfit. my son decided to try the outfit on.

i love that he loves to play dress up. he will come out of his room after being in there for 15 minutes with a full get up on. he will have 20 things on and each thing has its own specific purpose.

i love his laughter - the one that is unguarded and true laughter. i love the little dimple that is on the upper right side of his mouth.

i love that he wants to be just like his daddy. the officer is a great daddy, and i love how my son loves to spend time with him.


i love how my son will question things. he's getting to that age. we want all the things we are trying to teach him about God and life to become decisions he will make for himself - not because we are teaching them to him and we think they are right. so he questions and we answer to the best of our ability.


i love how he is a great big brother. he is a typical big brother. he sometimes picks on his little sister. however, he also tries to teach her what is right and wrong. he tries to watch out for her. every friday when we are in homeschool group, i see them walk to the bathroom or somewhere. he holds her hand and so she doesn't get lost. he watches out for her.

i love how he writes us messages or pictures on our bathroom mirror with the dry erase markers.

i love his own sense of style. wearing flip flops with socks doesn't bother him.

i love how he is so much like the officer and me. he such a rules boy. he finds comfort in knowing the rules and boundaries. the officer and i have to stretch in order to stretch our son. we grow because of our son.

i love how he loves to wrestle with his daddy. he goes all out crazy. it's funny to watch them. one of these days he'll best his daddy.

i love how he always tells me to use my blinkers and gets onto me if i forget. i love how he always tells me to put some money on our pikepass.

i love that he copyrights his pictures. i love that he saves me when i lock myself in the shed. i love it when he puts toys in his daddy's pillowcase and motorcycle boots. i love it that he continually tries to help me grow plants even though they all die under my watch.

i thank God every day for giving us our son. he's a blessing in so many ways i had never thought of before. God uses him in so many ways to teach me about patience, forgiveness, kindness, honesty, joy, loyalty, and love.

Happy 7th Birthday, Son!