A Birthday Boy!

Today is my sweet Nathan's 5th birthday. I can hardly believe it. What do I say about Nathan?

We knew from the moment he entered the world at 10lbs 7oz that things were going to be different with Nathan. He was the fluffiest baby I have ever seen. Apparently I've told him that a lot, because to this day when he asks me a question about when he was little he says, "Did I do that when I was a squishy baby?" He was indeed a very squishy baby.

In our family Nathan is the perfect mix of hilarious and loving. Even as a baby he was funny. From the time he was very tiny his hair stuck straight up on his head. It was as if it was saying, "I'm not going to lay down and follow the rules....I'm going to be bold and fun." This is Nathan's attitude. Here he is at about 10 months old. One of my very favorite pictures of him.

Marc and I laugh about this picture a lot because at about 2 1/2 years old we found out Nathan's eyes were VERY bad. I mean he can't see anything. So when we look at this picture we feel like he's staring at us like, "Is anyone out there?" What a sweet little thing.

Nathan has the ability to make me laugh and cry in the same day. He is so funny and says things that I just don't expect. He is also very strong willed and can throw a fit at the drop of a hat. That emotional personality definitely has it's ups and downs. The positive part is that Nathan LOVES everyone. He has been known to hug a total stranger. When we go into Target we have a rule that he can only talk to someone if he knows their name. He has lied to me about this before. He was riding in the cart and before I could stop him he started a conversation with an older woman as she walked by. After she walked away I leaned down and said, "Nathan, do you know her name?" He nodded, so I said, "What is it?" He looked at me very seriously over his glasses and said, "Karen." We both knew this wasn't true, but I was not able to argue with him at this point. The thing is, while I am usually embarrassed that he is asking a total stranger where her baby is.....people love him. We get SO many comments about how friendly and loving and delightful Nathan is. Honestly the world would be a better place if everyone had Nathan's attitude towards others. This year on Christmas Eve we were at Marc's sister's church in Roseau. As we headed up to communion, Nathan shook the hands of the first AND SECOND person in each row and told them Merry Christmas. Who does that? It was awesome. I truly want to be more like Nathan in this way. He is amazing.

Nathan lives every day to the fullest. He jumps up and down the whole time he is talking about something that excites him. His WHOLE body shows how he is feeling....not just his face. Today, on his 5th birthday he asked me to sing to him at each meal. We sang with a candle in his toast, in a cookie at lunch, and twice after dinner with a cupcake. I mean it's his birthday why sing it only once? My favorite thing that Nathan says right now that I don't want to forget is "Yestertime." This is a word that can be used for anything that happened before today. Example...."Yestertime, when I was a baby I LOVED sleeping in my crib."

Here are a few pictures from his special day today...

Nathan is just a joy to parent and I can't believe God chose me to be his mom. Every day is an adventure and I look forward to every single one. We simply can't wait to see the plans God has for Nathan and the awesome things he will do with his life! I love you my sweet Nathan!