Max McAlister | 5 years

I have a five year old.   FIVE...that sounds so weird.  Five is officially a "kid".   I have watched Max grow from an infant to a toddler to a preschooler, and now when he snuggles up next to me on the couch, I can barely believe he was ever the tiny babe I see in photographs.  

 When he was a baby I used to study his small features and try to imagine how they would transform over the years. I remember wondering...will his eyes stay blue?  Will he inherit the gap-toothed grin that I adore about his daddy?  

 Now I look at those same features today and try to remember what they looked like as baby. 
All of a sudden he's so tall.  His face has no trace of baby-ness left. And, as you can see, his eyes did stay blue and that little gap in his two front teeth....well, it melts my heart over and over again. 

These first five years of his life have been, as they say, "the longest, shortest time".

Dear Max,

You're the one who made me a momma.  That's a special and brave role to own.  You get to be the first, but that also means you're the guinea pig for my mothering skills :)  From deciphering your newborn cries and introducing first foods, to potty training and patience...I clumsily learned to become a confident momma as you grew.  You're still the "pioneer" child on our parenting journey.  Your father and I are doing our best and trying to be purposeful in the way that we raise you.  

I hope that we can teach you to listen to your heart and that it leads you to see the world.  And that you take on experiences that challenge you beyond the limits of comfort, because that's the place where you will stretch and grow and become you.  Things will get more complicated and confusing as you navigate your place in the world, but your father and I will be both a solid foundation and a soft place for you to land.  Forever and ever.  No matter what.

Happy 5th Birthday, my love.

My whole heart,
Momma (and Dad too :)

Newborn photos -  credit: RPeters Photography