HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, SEAN GABRIEL!

Dear Sean Gabriel,

I blinked. I didn't mean to, but I did. And now you are 4 years old. Four years ago today, you came into our lives after a marathon 14 hour-plus labor and a delivery that had your head pressing on my sciatic nerve the entire time. But you have more than made up for that pain. Every single day of your life, you have brought nothing but joy and light to our family.

This year has been one of tremendous growth in every aspect of your being. Who gave you permission to grow so tall? Somehow you shot up like a weed this year, to where you barely fit in the chair of your babyhood. The same chair where we slept and nursed and rocked and read stories throughout your babyhood, now finds your legs dangling over its arms. It can't contain you.

And neither, it seems, can I. It is getting to where I can no longer carry you cuddled in my arms while we walk to get Jayden at school, or walk down the street to Nana's house. Thinking about it totally deflates me. Not hold my baby any longer? Not carry you everywhere we go? Inconceivable!

But alas, a 4 year-old with as much energy and spunk and sheer brainpower as you have, cannot be contained by a mommy's arms. You started soccer this year and delight in learning the drills and skills that will carry you into the future. So far, your sports of choice are swimming and soccer, but you also love music and dancing and singing. I hope we can afford the piano lessons you beg to have before your interest in music wanes. I think you have a talented ear and when the radio plays in the car, you always want to know what the song and artists are called. Since I love to sing but rarely know more than a few lines of any given song, it is hilarious to hear you mimic me. Or Axl Rose, as the case may be:



In addition to your interest in the arts, your thirst for knowledge seems unquenchable. Your two preschool teachers glow when they talk about your accomplishments. You can write your name and are starting to sound out words. Your vocabulary is beyond eloquent for a 4 year-old. And while some terms are cribbed from the movies you delight in watching over and over ("Bother!" or "That's not respectable!" from Thomas the Train DVDs) others are just words that you use to get your point across. ("WHAT?! Are you kidding me?" you say with a melodramatic sigh).

Speaking of videos, you helped me to make one for an online contest and we won! The whole process was entertaining, but I especially enjoyed your sunny attitude -- even though you despised the drink I was trying to get you to peddle, you smiled and followed the script. Now I know why parents push their kids into Hollywood careers. Who wouldn't want her adorable and deserving child fawned over for oodles of money? But don't worry, Bubba Bear -- I know you have far better things to d0 with your time. For instance, you play a mean game of Memory. We play it almost every day and I never tire of your delight when you flip the cards and make a match. It seems that we have moved into a whole new realm of game playing.

I have buckled my seatbelt for a rough ride this year, as turning 4 started a very very difficult journey for your brother (and, apparently, for both of your parents, whose mothers didn't think would live to see 5). But somehow, Little Bear, I suspect that it is not going to be all that difficult. We will certainly have our challenging moments, but as you do with most everything in life, you will meet them with your usual good-natured smile and positive attitude. We all love that in you.

As always, brother Jayden is your best friend. He is the first one you want to see in the morning and we generally have to pull you from his room at night. Your wrestling matches have become increasingly more energized and physical, and your cuddles and playtime have become equally as intense. You both love and fight hard and I am honored to be the mommy who gets to be there to encourage - and referee - every step of the way.

As sad as I am to lose my little baby, I am ecstatic that he has turned into such an amazing and wonderful little boy. We love you more than all the stars in the sky, grains of sand on the beach, buckets and oceans.

- Love,
Mommy