9!

CanNOT believe he's nine... n i n e !!

He started his day with a call and Happy Birthday song from his cousins. Oh, the huge smile on his face and shining happy eyes were fantastic! What a great start.

We were baptized by fire into parenthood with this little man. There was a groundwork of preparation laid before he came, not readily recognized, but at each breaking point something would come to light. It took time to connect all the dots, but once we did, the hibernating Mama Bear woke up and went to work (supported by the Daddy Bear). There were two paths we could have taken with him and self contained classrooms wasn't the one we picked. His sweet heart of gold warms my soul. He's SO SO SO cute with his little sister! He's tenacious beyond belief! He knows the frustration of missing the mark, getting up, and trying again till he gets it...and he DOES succeed. It's inspiring. His testimony is so pure and strong. He's gotten really good at seeing a problem and taking care of it without being asked. He has the most amazing imagination (thanks to the superb training from the "Peter-swans") and teaches the younger kids all he knows.  As more diagnoses come (he has waaaay more than one kid should have to deal with) he takes it in stride, discusses it matter of factly, and makes a management plan for himself. When he works, he works hard. Can't make himself fall asleep for a nap to save his life. Within 2 weeks of his mean Mama declaring we were a snack/toy/entertainment free family for Sacrament Meeting he was sitting quietly and listening for the most part. He gets the jokes during the talks, makes appropriate comments, and asks good questions about the things he hears. It blows me away. I hope the others are seeing his example and will follow suit soon. He's the little sibling protector. He's doing so well in the sports he participates in and works hard for his coaches. He readily apologizes for mistakes and works to do better. Looked at my senior picture on the wall, then at me (after Garrett was born) and asked, "Mom is that you?" "Yes" "Did you get a new body?" Hmmm, something like that... It is SO fun to watch he and Garrett "read" together. Garrett can read anything but usually doesn't pay attention enough to know what he read. Gabriel would rather do just about anything than claw through a written text; as a compensation mechanism he's developed amazing auditory comprehension skills. So now Garrett reads it and Gabriel succinctly summarizes it for him and then they're off and running. If they could just go through college that way. :) He always gives generously to fast offerings when he earns money. Nearly brings me to tears each time. Strong, stalwart, good, kind, loyal, empathetic, and an all around fabulous kid! The monumental effort put forth on his behalf by himself and everyone around him has been worth every minute. He's not allowed to get any older...ever again...the thought of having to let any of them go out into this nasty grown up world gives me heart palpitations. I just want to keep him away from it all.

He came home this evening and said, "I turned 9 during basketball camp...I don't feel any different."

He just smiled wryly when I smiled and said, "Yeah, that's getting old for ya."

They did sing to him at swim team practice though (I missed it :'( due to being at speech with Lynneah) and that was exciting for him. Summer birthday kids don't get that kind of stuff very often. Wish I could've been there to record it...maybe next summer.

It's amazing how fiercely we love these little people that come into our lives!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!!