A Ray of Sunshine and a Burst of Energy

I was thinking about my boy this weekend. I mean, I think about him everyday (every minute, every second really), but I had a few moments to myself in the middle of a lot of moments full of family, and I got to thinking about our almost-three-year-old. To know Henry is to know a super spirited, funny, wild-at-heart boy. He's a ray of sunshine and burst of energy. He's serious in one moment, with his brow furrowed in concentration, lips pursed, and he's laughing until his cheeks hurt in another- that wide grin crinkling his happy brown eyes. It's still surreal to me that my first baby will be three in three weeks. I know I'll be saying this all my life, when he turns five and ten and thirty and fifty, but like anyone who has a child in their life, it's always surreal, and time always seems to fly by quicker than it did the year before.

So I just wanted to capture him today, right now, everything about him. The way he says "ganks" instead of "thanks," the chipped tooth smile that always melts me, the laugh he lets out when he's really excited about something. I want to remember his bedhead, the way he says "cuddle with me, Mommy?" with that little smile on his face, the scent of his hair after a bath and the way I can always, always make any boo-boo better. I never want to forget the way Charlie looks at his big brother, and the gentle and sweet way Henry is with him. The "Mighty Machines" song, singing the ABCs with his own flair, and the booty shake he does when he hears a song he loves. Henry right now is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (no crust), any raw veggie, and drink after drink of water. He's all about trains and trucks and puzzles, and he would love nothing more than to build forts all day long with his Daddy. He's a happy kid, a stubborn, head-strong, occasionally hot-tempered one, but most of all he the sweetest, kindest person I know, always wanting to make sure everyone is doing okay. His heart is so big.

Henry at almost-three finds joy in every bit of every day, from picking out clothes to crunching into a piece of crispy toast, and his laughs and smiles and funny stories keep us going. As I type this I could almost cry thinking about everything he gives to me- the things he's taught me and the way he pushes me to be better. Each morning when I get up I try so hard to be the person Henry sees me as, and at the end of the day if I've accomplished that, even a little bit, I feel like it's been a success. I can't even imagine what these next three years will bring.

I love you, H.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.