Four has me just craving More

November 10, 2021

Dear Benen,

My kind hearted blue eyed boy, this past year you have truly evolved from a sweet cautious toddler into a kind and confident pre-schooler, and gosh its such an honor to watch you grow.

This year as the world ebbed and flowed in the navigation of the covid 19 pandemic we took advantage of more quiet family time and you continued to thrive nonetheless. Your kind, thoughtful and genuine attributes continue to flourish and I feel proud to know you and learn from you and your perspective.

You were very excited for your birthday this year, and for the first time ever we organized a party to celebrate you with family AND friends. When I asked you what you wanted to do to celebrate, you casually suggested fireworks. Fireworks… in rainy November. Your papa, bless is heart made it happen. So we got a fireworks permit and we invited your entire preschool-- all your friends and teachers from sweetpeas, your entire family, and all your family friends to the Mcivor lake public beach. We spent a ridiculous amount on fireworks, hauled pizza, gallons of hot chocolate and a fire pit up to the beach. Your papa, dad and uncle Justin set up the barge for an elaborate firework show and towed it over from the cabin. All your friends arrived to the dark beach, and then the heavy rain clouds over head burst, and the rain began to pour down. ONE firework survived and decided to cooperate-- exploding one large bang of green into the sky, the crowd on the beach cheered. You and all your friends thought it was the best thing ever, waving your glow sticks in the rain we sang happy birthday and you blew out the candles on your spiderman cake. While us adults maybe reflect on that as a bust, you and your pals thought it was the best thing ever.

We had some big moments this year; you proudly stood beside your dad as his tiny best man and ring bearer as we made our family official. You took your role very seriously, carefully tucking the ring box deep inside your pocket and beaming at me as I walked down the aisle to marry my best friend (your dad). You also decided you no longer needed your Soo Soo a comfort that you'd used since you were days old and started playing baseball, something you weren't sure of at first but now seem to really quite enjoy.

Spiderman is still a career aspiration, you love to go fast on your green run bike, you like to sing silly made up songs to Charlie and you currently love pickles. You've come a long way from when you started pre-school, that initial transition was hard but you've now flourished into a confident leader, often leading at circle time and being a good friend always. You start kindergarten in this upcoming year, and I know that saying goodbye to this beloved pre-school that you've truly evolved within will be tough.

I look forward to continuing to nourish your heart, discover and explore your passions and can't wait to see what this next year holds. Thank you for continuing to teach me more about life and love, but most of all, thank you for choosing me to be your mom.

Love you forever,

Love Mom