1. Your smile lights up a room. I believe I have been saying that since you were born, but it is so true. When you smile it is impossible to not smile back - and you know it!
2. You sleep like a log. I wake you every afternoon from your nap, and you are sound asleep for two solid hours. A herd of elephants could prance through your room and you would still be snoozing away. You sleep well at night (from 8:30-5:45), but it takes forever to help you wind down. We start at 7pm and most nights hear you until 9pm. You sleep like you are in a desert - your sheets and pillow are soaked with sweat but you insist on having two to three blankets in your bed and you don't mind the sweat or little boy smell that emits from your room.
3. You LOVE your brother and look for his approval and for him to play with you all the time. You struggle with sharing your toys. I think about it like this - one day Declan was a cute little baby who sat and watched you play and then one day you woke up and Declan was right there taking your toys and more like a twin brother than a little brother. The 15 month age gap is closing, and you both are navigating how to share, take turns, and not take the toy the other one is playing with just because the other one is playing with it. But, the brotherly love is strong and you always make sure he is safe.
4. You barely eat. You live on air, I swear. We try to feed you well-balanced meals and you take one bite and declare you are finished. Unless it is ice cream and then you eat the whole bowl.
5. You love tv. You are allowed to watch a couple of shows throughout the day, and you love Paw Patrol, Blaze, and Bubble Guppies although you will often watch random cartoons from Netflix and Hulu. You can use the Roku remote and will often give directions like - down, right, over, right there - to tell us the show you want to watch.
6. You can be rather shy. Awkwardly shy. Whether it is us singing you happy birthday or a stranger at the store commenting on your hat, you look like you want to melt onto the floor. I used to get so embarrassed when you would wilt away, and I wished I could give you confidence. Now I know it is one of your best qualities because you watch, observe, learn, and when you are ready - you do jump in and usually are able to do the task at hand because you learned from watching. One day this trait will serve you well I am sure.
7. You are talking so much more, but I worry about your speech and how it will affect your self-confidence, your school career, and your friendships. You defy my worries every day when you interact with the neighborhood friends, children at the library, and make friends everywhere we go. Older kids want to be around you. You wow them with your good ideas and you somehow convey your games with very few words. Kids like you and this all I can hope for at the moment. You are using new words every day and your phrases are long. Your struggle with articulation and sentence structure, but you are more willing to try and repeat our words. I never thought I would know so much but at the same time know so little about something that my child struggles with, but you have taught me patience, hope, and determination when it comes to helping you succeed. I will always be your biggest fan and advocate (I am sure your school will hate to see my name pop up in their emails - they probably already do! :)
8. We love you beyond words, Lincoln Alan. There are some moments that are way harder than others, and there are moments that are absolutely amazing. I will take them all as long as we are living this life with you.
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