This morning as Brooks woke me up at 5:15 and announced to the house it was his birthday I wanted to say a few words to him about selfishness. It reminded me of 8 years earlier when he did wake us up to come into the world at midnight. While I miss those baby days, I love what he is becoming.

He rarely gives us a serious smile. This year has been about losing teeth. He is working on his 8th tooth. Yep, he pulls them out himself.He is always in play and pretend mode. And enjoys playing with weapons of any kind.Its so hard to get a serious picture.  At Easter missing a few more teeth. First day of school face.These three are so much trouble. Their laughter feeds off each other.
Always a builder and engineer. His favorite subjects are science and history and still hopes to someday do something with archeology or science.

Here he is in the middle of the story. While I love that he wants to tell me everything, sometimes I long for quiet and I have Mom guilt about that.Always down for sweets. He asks for dessert after dinner every night.
The dentist has already told us that he will need braces.

Happy Birthday Brooks!

I think this year might of been the most challenging. Between you and your brothers, Dad and I stay on our toes. You have tried out two new sports and have confidence despite still learning the skills of the game. I can see kindness as you play with your friends. You are brave and still full of integrity. Its hard for you to lie and I hope that doesn’t change. You are smart and excel in Math – a subject I still find hard so its a blessing to see how much you love it. I love watching ideas come together in your head and you understand much more than I sometimes give you credit for. You are a voracious reader and I love to discuss books with you. It warms my heart to see you hidden away with a good book. This summer we bought tickets to go France next year which meant we got you passport. This was a huge moment for me. I have been teaching you about the world and now you have access to it. I can’t wait to fly across the ocean with you and share so many adventures.

I will always be ready with books and plane tickets whenever you want to go on an adventure whether it be in the air or through the pages of a great story. I love you so much and I love watching you grow.

Mom