an open (love) letter to my son on his fifth birthday

Dear Baby Boy,
You're FIVE! Five! I have been completely avoiding thinking about it. Five feels like the end of an era to me.  No more babydom. We're out of clothes sized with a "T" after the number size. You are size 6 in the boys section. We're almost out of toddler sized shoes. You're a size 11 now.  You have long gave up your beloved dinosaur sippy cup that you drank your morning chocolate milk out of for years. You prefer an open Spiderman cup now. You've been a big brother for almost a year now. And, not to my surprise, you are the best big brother who ever lived.  Being a nurturer is your nature. What a lovely trait for you to have. It will get you a lot of good places in this life. I promise. Because with nurturing comes empathy and kindness.  You make this world better by being you.  You make me better by being you.
You make our family, my boy.  With your birth you made me a mother.  We all fell in love with each other.  We stuck by each other.  You make us a family where laughter happens everyday. Where laughing at ourselves is encouraged. You remind us to slow down and enjoy Family Movie Night.  You make us look up and admire the animal bones you find.  You help us listen as we listen to you giggle with Violet Alice. You are an intergal part of this family being human. Making mistakes.  Forgiving. Loving. Laughing. Sharing.  With your birth we learned that loving and being loved were the bread and butter of this life.
Your kindness, desire to stand up for others, sense of humor, and willingness to contribute continue to be your best characteristics.  Your father and I are constantly in awe of your kindness.  Your show of love, daily, to your sister is enough to melt my heart.  May you both always love each other this much.
Somedays I miss the afternoons where I would sing to you to get you to nap.  Other days I miss your pudgy fingers.  A lot of days I miss you being my baby.  Then you, with your sweet heart, tell me that you will always be my baby.  With the first child, parents tend to not stop and smell the roses enough.  I certainly did not.  Now I try to more. For instance, you recently learned about the planets in preschool.  You are now totally stoked about learning anything to do with outer space.  I absolutely love to hear you talk about things you are excited about.
Speaking of, this year you will be playing T-ball.  I am absolutely pumped to watch you play.  I could care less if you hit the ball or catch one.  I just want you to have fun with your friends.  I want you to enjoy yourself. You have been to known to be your own worst critic when you don't immediately succeed at something.  This year you have done a much better job, though.  And that makes me more proud than anything else.  Because if you try and try you will get better and then you will get really good. Ask anybody.
Five will bring lots of good things for you.  I just know it.  What an incredible five years it has been already.  For me, they have been the fastest, most love-filled, and fulfilling years of my life.  You continue to teach this family what life is really about and I have no doubt you will continue to do so. Happy Birthday,Hendrix.
With More Love Than I Knew Was Possible,
Mom

(letters for age 2, 3, and 4)