To My Birthday Boy

An Ollie Tale

Where to begin? Ah, yes.  Concerning Ollie...

Ollie's are happy, jolly and love to eat.  You prefer to be held, comfortable and cozy, rather than run off and have adventures. 

Thus making you a hobbit of sorts...

Three.  Years.  Old.  I can't believe my baby is three.  I love what a cuddle bug you are.  Still only during the day.  At night you still like to be comforted and then put back to bed. 

You hate bugs.  Felix locked you on the deck recently with all the baby spiders and you melted down.  Whenever I catch a spider in my hands you look at me like, "do not ever touch me again".  

You are just about potty-trained.  And I am just amazed.  You're so independent (and easily bribed) and proud of yourself and you just love your Doc McStuffins trainers.  Soon it will be underwear 24/7 for you.  I am just beyond excited.  

You still don't like men with beards.  We talk about the men in our life who have beards who are NOT scary.  Daddy, Grandpa, Uncles, Matthew, Cal, Josiah.  And that helps.

I adore how different you are from your brother.  You are cautious and shy and it takes you a while to warm up to people in a new place.  You constantly remind us that it's okay to do things on your own time.

When you sing, regardless of if it's Moana or Neil Diamond, it's just the greatest.  You are so expressive and into the music. 

You still never sleep in one spot.  You are all over your bed.  You are the only one in the house, dogs included, who just does not care how his blankets are.  On top, under, tangled, whatever.  You sleep.

I love how gentle you are.  How sensitive and kind and sweet you are.  You are still our 100% baby.  You feel everything 100% and RIGHT NOW.  Anger, fear, excitement, hunger, love, all of it.

OMG, your eating.  You remind me of the episode of Full House where Michelle tries to cook and I think mixes oreos and tuna because she loves both.  You love to mix foods.  You were so excited over your mashed potato, ketchup and gravy biscuit sandwich the other night.  You get your own snacks and treats and get just offended when you're told no more of something.

I can't wait to see what adventures we all get into in the years to come. Complete with second breakfast, elevensies and the other four meals when we can get them.

It's been an incredible year, one of the best of my life.  I'd do it all over in a heartbeat, there and back again, for sure.  Thanks for choosing me to be your mom.

All my love,
Your mama

To My Birthday Boy

To My Birthday Boy,

Oh sweet boy.  What a wonderful, hilarious, joyful, exceedingly blissful year it’s been.  What do you think of your life so far?  It’s hard to believe that, five years ago today, I was just going in for one of your last checkups only to find out that you’d be joining us in the world a few short whirlwind hours later.

I hear people telling me, "They grow so fast."  Or, "Time sure does fly".  It could not be more true.  I cannot believe you're five.  FIVE.  A whole freaking hand, Felix.  How did we get here?  The things you can do, the things you know, the kindness I see inside you every day, it all still just surprises me in the best way.

This past year you have grown so much.  You are quick-witted, sassy, sensitive, excited and excitable, protective of those you love - especially your family.  You know so much and think you know it all.  You're learning to learn and to listen.  You want to know how everything works and why, for the love of all that is good and right, WHY?

You are amazingly good at using your words.  When you need something, when you like something, when you don't like something.  You are constantly communicating and I love it.  Your ability to relay your feelings is something you get from your dad and you are very fortunate for it.  I hope this trait stays with you forever and only grows.

Your relationships with kids your own age is one of my favorite things to watch and hear about.  You know who you like and who you love.  You know why you don't like people - they're mean, loud, angry, cranky.  But you have a hard time saying why you love someone.  "I just do."  It's so wonderful.  And I love that you acknowledge things about people, "She sure cries a lot, but I like her anyway."

Pokemon has made it's appearance in our lives and it seems to have made itself at home.  I cannot tell you how often I now think about what my third favorite Pokemon is.  It's a lot more that I ever have thought about it before.  You are obsessed, and I truly think this is the thing that will help you learn to read.  You know so much about it and how they relate to each other and what they can do.  It blows my mind.  And makes your dad so very happy to play it with you.  

This is the first year your dad was a stay at home dad.  You and your brother seem happier than ever.  And your dad is where he always wanted to be.  He is incredible, a warrior, a teacher, a protector, a comforter, a playmate.  The words "mom" and "dad" seem interchangeable in our house in a way we rarely see in the world at large.  Felix, you may never know how very lucky you are to be raised by your dad.  This man who is more a parent at heart than anyone I know, through good times and bad, he is changing the world for the better by simply being your dad.  Your life, your views, your experiences will be shaped by how our strange, socially backward, "screw everyone, this works for us" family is molded.  We're weird, kid.  And we love it.  

Your sensitive side has taken on a cheerleader type quality.  You are constantly lifting others up.  Like yesterday, when you asked me to make a Pokemon pancake and it was truly a blob with some chocolate chip eyes.  You looked at it.  You looked at me.  "It's perfect, Mom," you said.  It wasn't perfect.  It was crap.  But you loved it.  You said, "Mom, they're all perfect.  And even if it doesn't turn out the way I thought, I can fix it.  I just look at it a different way."  What almost-five year old TALKS like that?!

You're still a rule follower.  To the point of my pulling my hair out if I do something that's not EXACTLY right.  Like, when I make a decision without checking with your dad, you make sure it's still ok because 90% of the time we say that mom and dad need to talk about it first.

I think you’re a great, cool kid and the best son a mom could ask for.  Stay kind, stay curious, stay little forever.  Tuck in on the movie couch and snuggle your dad, brother and me for always.  You're my most favorite Felix in the whole world.  I know I say it each year, but seriously, best year of my life.  

All my love, 
Your mama