Happy Birthday (yesterday) to my sweet boy! I can't believe that you are five. How did my baby get so big? It has been a delight to watch Benjamin grow this year. It seems to have been a very special year for him as he has matured so much.
Yesterday we celebrated with first waking up with a cake and singing him happy birthday. He was in our bed so I had to tell him to stay put while I went to get the cake. (He still likes to come snuggle with me a lot of nights and I love it!!) The candles seemed so bright to his sleepy eyes but he was grinning ear to ear and managed to blow them out. We headed to the living room to find a present filled with his favorite things - the first Narnia movie and the first Narnia DS gameboy game. We normally dont' let the kids play games or watch tv on the weekdays (a change that has been fabluous for our family), but we told Ben that he could play his game and watch his movie during quiet time. He was delighted as he dreams about playing gameboy all week :) (You see why we had to cut this out - the kid's obsessed!)
Ella came over and we played outside for awhile, read a book while sitting on a tree, and then had a snack. We enjoyed our first watermelon of the year - a big hit in the Potts house. Then we grilled some steaks and corn and everyone shared what they loved about Benjamin. After dinner, Benjamin and I looked through his first year book and reminisced a bit. I got a little weepy inside in thinking about my baby growing up. Five is hitting me hard and I really love him just like this. Can we just stop time?!? It goes by way to fast and it really is true that you need to cherish every minute because you blink and it's gone.
A few things we love about our Benjamin ~
- I love that he still dinds his way into our bed in the middle of the night to snuggle with Mommy!
- I love that he is so sensitive to my emotions and is always quick to give me a hug and to pray for me if he senses that I am feeling discouraged.
- He often says to Nastya, "You Momma?" as they play momma - baby games. Too cute.
- He is amazing at memory game and can beat me if I don't stay on toes!
- Benjamin is the best gecko catcher ever (actually they are called anoles we recently discovered).
- Even though we have to correct him, Ben gets into his 'grumpalufagous' moods when things aren't quite going his way and it is qute hilarious. He suddenly goes from liking everything to hating everything and stomping his feet. He will say something ridiculous like, "I hate donkeys,,," with a serious scowl.
- He is generally happy and light-hearted and brings great joy to each of us.
- He has a sweet, kind spirit and loves to make us smile with his funny antics
- He will take apart or tinker with just about anything electronic and unfortunately has damaged a few items - like our water softner. But he is learning to ask first I think...
Oh there is so much more I could say about Benjamin. I love that kid and thank God for making me his mommy. As much as I want to hang on to my sweet baby it is a joy to watch him grow and mature into the uniquely wonderful person that God created him to be. Thank you Lord for every day with my sweet boy!
Here are a few random ics from the past year...
Here's Ben loosing his swim shorts - he is soooo skinny!
Looking adorable at the beach!
Just chilllin on a camping trip with his brother and Daddy.
