Dear Ethan,

 

Today is your 4^thbirthday! And while I don’t think turning four has been as thrilling as turning three was, very few people get as excited about birthdays as you do!

 

Three has been an adventurous year in more ways than you will ever know. For at the end of the day, Covid-19 and the crazy world we now live in has meant very little to you. You still got to do swimming lessons for the first time. (And would have passed to the next level if you had just learned to keep your feet still while floating on your back!) You got a new bike you ride and ride. You even got to play one game on Emry’s soccer team…wetting your desire to play on your own team this year. Aunt Sally has taken you under her wing to teach you to “pow-pow”. All ways to run off some of your exuberant energy…but only some of it!

 

Truly, you wear me out most days. You are always up to something, always chattering away, sometimes being Emry’s best friend and other times being the biggest pest of the year. You are now a big brother as well as a little brother, and while you adore Ellyson, you often forget how small she is compared to you. When I tuck you in bed at night, I take a deep breath, thanking God you have survived another day and I can now rest a little. 

 

You go at just about everything headlong with very little thought. Sometimes that’s great. You don’t know you’ve never played soccer, or hit a baseball…or jumped off Grandpa and Grandma’s swing set without looking down first. Which is why we ended up at urgent care to be sure your foot wasn’t broken.

 

But you’re also a smart little thing, You love getting your “school books” out when Emry is working on her schoolwork. You’ve learned your numbers and letters, working on how to write them and the sounds they make. You can spell and write your name. You love to do dot-to-dots and mazes. You color very well and always want to draw with Emry. And you’re always asking, “Why?”

 

And as exhausting as you can be, it has been a joy to watch you grow over the past year. I love watching you learn new things, and watching or listening to your imagination. It’s a joy to see you and Emry play together. And your enthusiasm for just about everything is infectious. I love to hear you recite your memory verses and tell me the things you’ve learned in Sunday School. And there is very little more joyful than hearing you pray and ending it with “Thank you, Jesus! Love you, Jesus!”

 

You are such a blessing, little man, and I am so happy you have been with us these four years. I pray we have dozens and dozens more together! 

 

Love,

Mama