Ryan Turns 7!

As I write this, I'm sitting in the midst of my child's sleepover birthday party. I cannot fathom how my baby has transformed into a stinky, giggly, inquisitive, intense, boy. He's having four friends stay the night and watch Star Wars for the first time. Only he won't stop talking and asking questions since he's heard rumors of these tales and wants to soak up every second of it.

I know I've say these things every year: The time is flying. How did he get so big? I can't imagine life before him. All of this still stands. But this past year has been one of the more challenging of parenting. He's fully out in the world. He lived through the "scary" first year of kindergarten and confidently walked through the doors of first grade, excited to see his friends and comfortable in "his school." The hard of this for me has been the first stages of letting go. He has his own social life. His way of doing things. His perspectives and outlooks. Sometimes these things are amazing. Others frustrating and even, dare I say, disappointing when things don't go as I imagined they should.

But through this year of growth has come amazing things. He's reading at a 2nd grade level. Learned to tie his shoes in just a few days. He can run with the older kids at the cottage. And he's figuring out how to be a really great friend and big brother.

This collage represents the very best of our boy from the last year. His sweet. His rambunctious. His laughter. (Ok, I DO wish he'd sleep more. It's kinda a concern for us.) Ryan's smart and can sit for hours building legos or paging through books. He builds the most intricate vehicles. He knows facts about animals we've never even heard of and loves to ask us who would win in "animal battles." He's a force on his two wheeler and will bravely hold snakes. He truly believes he's the fastest and strongest 7 year old on the planet. Some days he thinks he's the third parent to Elise. Others he thinks their peers. His heart is tender for Cali and he's starting to apply those same emotions to the world as he learns empathy for others. All in all, he's a pretty amazing kid.

A sampling of our sweet boy through the years. One thing hasn't changed. That smile!

And as I sit here reflecting on how old Ryan's gotten, he just screamed out (as Luke Skywalker and Hans "Soho") shot up the bad guys in a fighter battle, "that guy just got paid!" Pretty sure it's only going to get more interesting from here—both the sleepover and the next year.

Ryan we love you more than we knew we could. Thank you for making us parents and for always keeping us on our toes and teaching us to grow.