Will is SIX!

My sweet Willy Boy is SIX today, which seems both highly insane and also the most natural thing in the world.

Here he is at the park yesterday with Chuck and the other boys; while Grandma Pam was here the boys instituted a monochromatic dressing policy and Will was the proud winner wearing allll blue :).

Will continues to be such a sweet, tender-hearted boy and contributes so much to our family. He's very snuggly and quick to offer an "I love you" or hug, usually just when I need one.

I know I say this every year, but he's progressed SO much since his last birthday. Kindergarten absolutely agrees with him; he loves school and learning and talking ... non-stop ... about things he's learned. He's currently on a 'Berenstain Bears' kick and has read all the way through my childhood collection and the elementary school library collection. We now have a list that we need to pick up from the public library.

I'll recap all of the birthday festivities at some point in the future (spoiler alert #1: Will is HIGHLY obsessed with Sid the Science Kid right now and got to go to the LIVE performance at the Morrison Center the other night as a special night out with Daddy... basically the highlight of his life thus far) and today he's excited for red velvet cupcakes and a playdate with some friends, young and ... old-er :).

(Spoiler alert #2: Chuck is for sure at the store right now picking up a new bike for the birthday boy so that, you know, his knees don't hit the handlebars each time he pedals...)

 We sure love our Will. He's kept us on our toes since the beginning - you know, when he came almost a week before his scheduled c-section and I dismissed the contractions all day, SURE they were Braxton-Hicks. I'll never forget Dr. Klomp checking me when I finally showed up at the hospital that evening and yelling "She's nine and a half centimenters! Get the OR ready now!!" Whoops :).

I'll also never forget how immediately my heart just burst with love when I saw my baby and held him and all of my previous worries about being able to love a second child as much as my first just melted away. Six years later, Will continues to march to the beat of his own drum, and we are thrilled and blessed and honored to be invited to his parade :). We love you Willy Boy!!