Of all the little boys....

Our amazing Tyler...

The fact that you are now SIX years old is both so wonderful and so unbelievable that I just can't explain it. You are such a bright spot in our EVERY DAY!!! We are often in awe over the things you have been able to accomplish in this one year. How much you have grown.

You finished and excelled in Kindergarten! You can talk better, count higher, run faster, and are working so hard to read more and more everyday!! You have become an amazing big brother, and you have many friends...

I love that when I am watching, and you don't know I am watching, I see you becoming an independant person...with indiviual thoughts, ideas and emotions.

As parents; though we are thrilled that you are becoming all of these things, we are sad too. Sad because you are, in little ways, starting to pull away from us already. As parents, we have nurtured, guided and helped you since before day one. Your best interests have been our ONLY concern...as time rolls on...we still hang on to the fact that we just need you to need us. Your independence is making that less of a factor, and even though that is the ultimate goal for all parents, it is sometimes hard.

It is something you won't understand until you have children of your own; that I know...but when that day comes...I promise you will see it so clearly. As a parent, you start doing the absolute best for your kids that you can humanly do...and then, you don't ever want to stop.

So......AT SIX YOU:

~LOVE your daddy...you want to do everything with and like him.

~Love baseball

~Want to be "everything" when you grow up...a fireman, a baseball player, an atronaut...etc

~Say things like..."I would be so happy if I could stay in Kindergarten forever"...and "I will never know a better life than this"...and "when I grow up I am going to marry mommy" (my favorite!)

~Peanut butter and Marionberry jam sandwich is LITERALLY your favorite lunch, EVERDAY!

*LOVE school

~Would do anything for your baby sister, even though you sometimes get irritated with her.

*Have lost no teeth, but really want to

~Have two favorite pairs of shoes, because "they make you run faster"

*Have never been on an airplane

~Are afraid of spiders and bees

*Don't like most chocolate...will eat it with no other options...but won't choose it.

~LOVE to draw and you are very good at it.

*Fight brushing your teeth twice everday...on que...without fail! :) a fight you lose!

~Love salad

*Don't like pineapple or green beans

~DO NOT like being on the spot...and we can already tell you are going to get your feelings hurt easily as you are extremely sensitive.

You have the best smile and belly laugh. You make everyone around you smile as well! You light up rooms and lives instantaneously!

As much as I want to be OK with the progression that is life; I don't think I am. I think it is something that will have to be practiced by me, and not come naturally. I really love where I am right now. Daily life has its challenges but overall, I wake up happy and go to bed with anticipation. Everyday, I look forward to another new moment. I love it all...the messes, the new found 5/6 year old throw-yourself-on-the-ground-fits...the fighting, the love! It is the one place I feel TRULY, unconditionally, cherished. To my kids, NO ONE could do my job better.

Tyler, you are such a wonderful little boy, and it is my honor; my privlege to watch you grow. Everyday I learn more about who you are becoming and more about what I can do to help you get there.

I COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN A BETTER GIFT THEN WHAT I WAS GIVEN THE DAY YOU WERE BORN; just six years ago.

Of all the little boys in all of the world, how did I get so lucky to get the best one?

We love you best boy!