Four Years Ago, In A Land Far Away…ish…

Oh my sweet baby boy, how you've grown!

I don’t even think it’s possible that it’s been four years since we met.

You are such a joy to be around. (I know everybody thinks this about their kids, but have you met IZ? Seriously, he'll be your best friend in about 4 seconds... and then talk about you for days, referring to you as his best friend.)

I never knew I wanted a boy. My first thought, when I found out I was having a boy was, "Ahhckk! I don't know how to deal with wee-wees!!"

But man, I can't imagine having it any other way. You're the sweetest to me and treat me with respect and love.

You even defend me from Daddy. (Like the time we were smooching in the kitchen and you walked around the corner and caught us. Without saying a word, you turned and ran away, only to run back with a large stick and go after Daddy.)
You're amazing. You're smart. You're funny. You make me laugh and smile. You make me oh so very mad and frustrated.

You are so beautiful, you’ve got eyes to die for. You get yourself into situations you can't get out of. You always ALWAYS tell the truth. If you know you're in trouble, when I ask, you begin your sentence with, "Well..." For example, "IZ, did you eat all the candy?" "Well..."

You know all your ABCs and the sounds they make. You can count to 14, then to 20 by twos. You won't let me cut your hair, but you would wear a faux hawk every day if I would let you. You love to watch movies. You can brush your own teeth and always remind me when I forget. You have been potty trained for over a year and have had less than 5 accidents, and you never ever wet the bed.

You like to watch DR. Who with Daddy and me, and you love the "exterminate" robots. You call me your best. You are so dear to my heart. You will start preschool soon and I am so happy for you. I will be missing you terribly while you’re gone, but I know that it will be a blast! You are an amazing son and the perfect brother. You treat EB so sweetly and I can tell how much he already looks up to you.

You are a natural born performer, you get the biggest kick out of the silliest things. I love your smile, I love your sense of humor. I love that you can watch the same movie over and over and over and always act surprised by it.

You are an amazing boy and I can’t wait to watch you grow into an amazing man. All the things you will do, all the people who’s lives you’ll touch, it’s gonna be great. I can’t wait to watch you make choices and learn lessons, both good and bad. I hope to always be the person you can talk to and confide in. I promise I’ll always try to be “the nice one”.

But for now, help me to remember how much I’m going to miss you singing the “fillet o’fish” song and acting out your favorite part of a movie, and let me soak it all in because the last four years have literally flown by and I feel like it’s all happened so fast. I look back and don’t remember you being such a tiny baby or toddler, you’ve always just been my IZ. You’re a great kid, buddy and I am so glad you’re mine. I hope I can always be your best.

Love you to pieces, Momma

PS I know every year I swear off making a birthday cake the next year, and seriously next year I mean it! But thanks for always requesting the fun cakes and for loving them, even when they don’t look quite right. You rock.