Happy 5th Birthday Jack!

Dear Jack,

Today is your 5th birthday. I cannot find enough words to tell you what an amazing kid you truly are. You have been speaking in complete sentences since before you were 2, and always trying to figure out the how and why of everything. It drives me bananas, but it's also a little endearing too.

You're such a kind hearted soul. I know of no other kid that would save in his pockets grapes from Grandma's fridge through an entire 45 minute car ride home, just to share them with his buddy down the street. You never hit back (unless it's a sibling rivalry thing), and you adore Brooke, your baby cousin. You take really good care of baby Maddie too, you always have. I know you always will. You mean what you say, and you always, always say what you mean.

Right now you're at a fun stage. You love Star Wars, Lego Star Wars, Indiana Jones (especially his theme song), dressing up, video games (currently you're really into the old Super Mario Brothers from the very first Nintendo system), and you want to learn letters, words, and how to read on your own very badly. You like to find every stick there is and turn it into a 'gun' and shoot bad guys, and when you grow up you really want to be a storm trooper.

So, on this, your fifth birthday, I say whole heartedly, I hope your dreams come true. I hope you become a storm trooper, or fly to the moon, or you become a rock star, or a fireman or policeman, or even an accountant like your daddy, or work with kids like mommy, because you have the amazing ability to make wonderful things happen in your life. Every door is open to you and I am standing behind you every step of the way.

Happy birthday son. You are truly one of the very few things I've done right in this life, and you make my world such an amazing place to be.

I love you.

Mom