Happy 5th Birthday Ethan!

Ethan's top 5: (not in any particular order)

1. Transformers & Bionicles

2. Tortillas & Cheese (yes, this is really called a quesadilla)

3. Playing with friends & his sister

4. Candy

5. Drawing & Coloring

Ethan you are my first born and as such, you are full of surprises. I marvel at how much you have grown and accomplished in the short time you have been on this earth. Yet, I marvel even more at how much I learn from you each day. You have a wonderful desire to please others and to make them happy. You love rules (maybe not always for yourself however) and are very good at following directions. You love friends and playing with them more than anything else. Even with this strong desire to play with others, you always find a way to include your little sister and have become a great big brother (sometimes bossy - but what oldest sibling isn't?). You are amazingly creative and spend much of your day drawing, coloring, cutting or gluing something. Your ability to put things together (a product of following instructions no doubt) is quite evident as you play with your favorite toys....bionicles, kin'ex, legos. It's really amazing how good you are with them. You are a perfectionist and worry that someone will be disappointed if you do not get it all right. This makes you so good at everything you do but I do worry that you will expect too much of yourself and miss out on just having fun. Performing in front of others scares you especially if you feel as though you are not fully prepared. But at home, in your element, you are anything but shy. You are an excellent swimmer, (a talent you got from your dad) and an excellent climber. Thankfully you have always had the good sense to know when you are unable to do something silly like flying or jumping off the tallest swingset as a toddler but as you have grown you have surprised me with your balance and ability to climb on top of our swingset and jump chainlink fences, etc. You love to read about the prophets and their stories and you absorb pretty much whatever we throw at you. I'm so grateful to have been given the responsibility to be your mother and to have such a sweet and caring son. Happy Birthday Ethan, my great big 5 year old!