five.

Carson, buddy…

Today is your long-awaited birthday.  You have been anticipating this day for the past 364 days, and alas it has arrived.  And while I’m so very happy to celebrate you today, I am admittedly a bit sad that my baby- the cute little brown headed boy that made me a mama- is growing up!  But I’ll cut the nostalgia short for now… let’s talk about the here and now!

It’s no secret that you are a Lego connoisseur.  Perhaps a bit obsessed.  The skill with which you can put together a set intended for 9-14 year old children is straight ridiculous.  You are so imaginative when building your own creations, and you get crazy frustrated with my feeble attempts to build with you.  You memorize Lego catalogs and study the Lego website. More recently, you have somehow learned to navigate Ebay for vintage Lego sets.  Typing all of this makes me realize that, yes, we probably need to reign this in a bit.  But suffice it to say that a career as an architect or engineer might just be in your future.

You still love to learn.  Anything related to anatomy and physiology (it’s true.), marine life, and dinosaurs thrills you.  This year, you were given the choice between a birthday party with friends or an “experience” with the family.  (Truth: I was secretly hoping for the experience, as I currently lack the bandwidth to plan a big party.)  You chose a trip to an aquarium, and we’ll be headed there this week.  I told your daddy that we could always try to sneak into a local university’s human cadaver lab if we really wanted to get you amped up… but the aquarium idea stuck.  You’re such a cool kid.

You are a perfectionist people pleaser who thrives on routine and structure.  You totally get this from me.  You hate to make mistakes or to lose.  Buddy, we pray that you will understand that your worth does not come from your achievements or good behavior.  We love you because you’re our son, just like God loves us because we are His.  Oh how I hope that you learn this easier than I did.

Carson, you are such a sweet child.  You are compassionate, kind, sensitive, and affectionate.  This has been illuminated in our transition to Elizabeth being home.  You are so gentle and protective of her, forever lavishing her with affection.  Some of the sweetest moments of my week are when I pick you up from school.  Whether you’re on the playground or in a quiet classroom, the moment your eyes meet mine, you yell “mama!!” and run to embrace me.  I love this.  Fair warning, though.  If you’re still doing this as a high schooler, you may get mocked.  I’ll still love ya though.

We’re proud of you and love you so much, big guy… to the moon and the stars and Jupiter and back. Happy birthday, bud!!