To my sweet 5 year old boy —
Benjamin! You are 5! Happy birthday, wonderful, darling child of mine. What an amazing guy you are, and I am so excited to be celebrating your 5th birthday. Every single day, I enjoy being with you. You are a great kid, and I love you so very much.
It is so wonderful to watch you learn and grow. I swear that you get taller every day — I feel like every time I look at you, you can reach new things. You are so fast, too! And you are developing amazing skills — even at 5, there are quite a few things you can do better than I can. You learn new things all the time. You’ve always been eloquent and precise in your speech, but this year, your sentences have become longer, more detailed and increasingly polite (very impressive!). You’ve always been a pleasure to talk to, but, amazingly, I find that I enjoy our conversations more and more. You say amazing things — you notice so much of the world around you, you take in so much information, and then you ask the BEST questions about what you see. You are so thoughtful and insightful, and you are so genuinely interested in learning more and solving the puzzles in your mind. (Although I am surprised by how often — VERY often — you ask questions that I can’t answer simply.) And you are so brave! As you grow up more and more, I see your enthusiasm and willingness to try new things, and to persevere at old things that pose a challenge.
And as you learn new stuff and conquer new challenges, you are still, without question, the wonderful YOU that you have always been. You are, as always, such a kind and sweet kid. I see this most in the amazing love you have for Liam. You a fantastic big brother. And while you guys may not always get along perfectly, you are always thinking of him, concerned for him, and (usually) happy to share with him. You guys are great friends, and you take really good care of him. It is my most favorite thing as a parent to see the love and fondness the two of you have for each other. And it’s not just with Liam that I see your kindness. There are so many ways that I get to see your awareness of others. You care about the younger kids in your class at school, you always look out for Bailey, and you always think about everyone in your family and everyone around you. You love to be in touch with your friends and family, you think about how actions or events might affect people or creatures in the world, you empathize with the characters in books and movies. You are a truly sweet kid.
This year has been a great one. We’ve travelled a lot, seen many new things and met lots of new people. I love to hear about your favorite places in the world to visit, and your favorite memories of each destination. You’ve also had a wonderful year at school, making great friends and learning so much. And this coming year, you are so excited to be one of the Vorschule Kinder! How grown up! I am so excited for you. You are starting to be able to recognize words and “read” just a little, and you’ve been working on your writing, too. Your drawings have become really neat this year — I love to see the detail and thought in the pictures you make. It is just fantastic to see what you’ve accomplished this year.
I am so grateful that I get to be your mommy. I really feel like I have the best luck of any parent in the world to get to have you in my life. I’m also glad that although you’re getting bigger, stronger, faster and smarter all the time, you’re still not too big to snuggle with. I love to give you hugs, to hold you in my lap, and to cuddle with you. No matter how grown up you get, you will always be my baby, and I will love you forever and ever and for always, no matter what. You are a truly lovely person, and a wonderful kid. You are so big and strong and smart and kind and brave and loving — wow, that’s a lot of great things!
Benjamin, I love you so much. Thanks for being my guy. Happy birthday, sweet boy.