Dear Reed,
Five years ago we were sitting in a hospital room, knowing that the day would stretch long as we waited for you. And just before 3 a.m. on September 2nd, you entered the world a tiny, red-headed version of your daddy.
And yet you are also this wonderfully intricate mash-up of me and your daddy. His looks. My freckles. His love for movies. My love to be on the go. His innate sense of direction.My quick-trigger frustration. His intensely observant nature. My blue eyes. His independence.
Most importantly, though, you’re you. You are so distinctly you, in a way that I can’t really wrap into words. Your generous, kind heart is such a joy to see. And your silly, always looking to make others laugh nature, brings light to so many situations. So, today, we get to say happy fifth birthday to you, a kind, generous soul that we have the privilege of raising! I’m amazed as I write the word “fifth,” just marveling at how you’ve grown and changed and blossomed in five years. I wish you could see how much you’ve grown in these five years; it’s quite astounding!
Your language has grown so much that your teacher can’t even keep an accurate, up-to-date list of all the new words, phrases and sentences you can say. You easily count from one to five, when even just a couple of months ago 1, 2, 3 was difficult. And you’ve started singing; you’ve always loved music and now you’re singing along with some of your favorites (like Let it Go and You Are My Sunshine). Your feet are growing so rapidly that we’ve had to size up for the second time this summer. Those bigger shoes help you run around with your brother.
We continue to pray that God will knit our hearts closer together as a family, that we will know how to shepherd your wonderfully generous heart, and that this next year will be a wonderful one for you.
Love you buddy,
Mama, Daddy, & Luke