Celebrating Growth

Spring is my favorite season.  I love watching the rebirth of nature each year.  One of my favorite hymns is the Hymn of Promise: In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree; In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be, Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. I love the emergence of the flowers, the way the leaves on the trees seem to burst forth before your very eyes, the hum of activity in the neighborhood and park as everyone leaves their houses to work and play outside, and everyone seems happy. Another reason I love spring is because of our boys' birthdays.  This season of growing is a great time to celebrate and reflect on the growth of our sons.  It is a delight to watch them learn and grow. Davis turned 6 - imagine that!  He is getting so strong and capable.  He loves to show me how he can do tricks on the monkey bars, and in his swim lessons this month he has started to be able to swim a (very) short distance freestyle without assistance.  He has become quite a proficient reader and reads about a grade level ahead, his teacher describes him as "extremely motivated" and "like a sponge soaking up all the knowledge he can."  I remember she was so impressed when they studied ocean life that he knew what "echolocation" is . . . I guess she's never watched Finding Dory, haha!  We will frequently be driving in the car or cuddling in his bed at night and he will suddenly pop out something he's been learning about school, wanting to do math equations or tell us some facts about frogs or discuss the reading strategies he used that day.  The gears in his mind are always spinning, and I love watching him blossom.  He is a loving brother . . . even though their bickering can get on my nerves, at the end of the day they are brothers to core and I love the way they love each other. He requested a Stormtrooper cake for his birthday (that's what the marshmallows are supposed to be) and we went out to dinner at Red Robin that night with some friends. Adam is three years old today, and is excited to grow up and be "big like Davis."  Yesterday I asked him if he was a baby and he said, "No, I'm an Adam."  Always be confident in knowing yourself, sweetheart.  Adam is the sweetest little boy, always smiling and happy, easily contented, and so loving.  He will give me the biggest hugs and tell me, "You're my sweetie pie" and "You're my cutie baby."  Sometimes when we're snuggling in his bed at night he will say, "Where's your mouth?" and push my face against him, because he likes to feel my lips against his head.  He still loves all varieties of vehicles and playing outside.  He is overcoming his fear of the carwash - we went through yesterday and afterward he said, "I wasn't scary.  I'm almost three."  He had a "choo-choo train cake" for his birthday and, according to his own tradition, blew out the candles before we even got through the first line of Happy Birthday, just as he did last year! The years seem to slip by quietly and quickly, but how precious each year is with these two children, and how wonderful it is to celebrate their growth.