Thursday, October 27, 2011

Now He Is Six

Today is Small Son's birthday! It is so hard to believe that six- SIX!!- years ago today, that he came into our lives and changed us forever. Last night, I was telling him my favorite memory of that day. Right after he was born, after he'd been cleaned up, and wrapped up, they handed him to me. He was crying and red and pissed off, as newborn babies usually are. As I held him, I looked at him, and said, "There you are, [Small Son!]" And he immediately turned to the sound of my voice, like he was thinking, "Hey! I KNOW that person!" His tiny eyes looked into mine, and man, that was it. I knew that I'd never love anyone as fiercely, as all-consumingly as I did this little dude.

But one of the coolest things about watching him grow is how that love has changed over the years. He's still my baby (or my Beh-Beh, as I call him), but now, I don't just love him because he's mine. I love him for the loving, funny, frustrating, weird, totally unique person he is.

I still see traces of me and The Husband in him, but there are new parts emerging now, quirks of his personality that are all his. He's had an adventurous spirit ever since he was very little. When he was three, we drove from Alabama to Maine. At one stop, we had to get up at 4:30 AM to get on the road. The Husband and I were blurry eyed and half asleep as we got in the car, but Small Son hopped up into his car seat, grinned, and yelled, "LET'S DO THIS!"

He is fearless about so many scary things (the ocean, airplanes, heights), but still timid when faced with crowds, or people he doesn't know. When he's mad at you, he tells you that he is, "not in your heart right now!" He is hilariously funny, both intentionally and unintentionally. For example, I was bemoaning the lack of a parking space last week, and from the backseat, complete with a world weary sigh, comes, "Welcome to my life." He will do anything for a laugh, including a routine as "Robot Justin Beaver (his term for Justin Bieber)that literally made me cry, it was so funny.

When he's excited, he hugs SO HARD that he grits his teeth and shakes. It's like he's having a Love Seizure, and it cracks me up every time. He feels things very deeply, which makes me wish I could put bubble wrap around his heart.

He loves music, and stories, and the water, and every night, he asks us what our favorite part of the day is. And even though we always tell him it was some event, or some activity, the truth is, he's my favorite part of the day. Every day.

Happy Birthday, Small Son!



















17 comments:

J.A. Souders said...

Happy Birthday, little dude! :D How sweet that you love him so much. I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!! Happy birthday to the Small Son!! And this was a really, really lovely post, Rachel.

Even though children are scary.

You make them sound scary AND AWESOME.

~V

Jessica said...

Hope you guys had a great Birthday celebration for him. Thank you for sharing it's nice to read about everyday lives. We are all just people trying to juggle it all. Your son is adorable, being a mommy is the greatest!

Lisa Schroeder said...

STOP IT - I am already hormonal and now I'm crying like a BEH BEH!!!

What a lucky mom you are. What a lucky boy he is.

Happy birthday!!!

la said...

He's so blessed to have you as a mom! Happy birthday to Small Son!

Serenity Bohon said...

Happy Anniversary of the Mamahood! I so GET every word of this post. Happy birthday to your little man.

MH said...

He looks JUST like you, Rachel, and that picture of him with the Bulgarian Hex Hall is priceless.

Hannah said...

Aw, he's so cute, happy birthday to small son! And what you wrote was the sweetest thing ever:)

Ashes said...

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing, I love the bubble wrap idea. So sweet, aren't they? Happy Birthday, Small Son!

Dallas said...

I HIGHLY enjoyed this post and I felt "touched" (you touched me!). BTW when does he transition to medium son?

Crystal said...

Happy birthday small son!

I always share small son-isms with my husband and we both agree, he's a pretty funny kid.

I can't get over how much he favors you! Plus, the picture of him with the belly spider? très awesome

Casey (The Bookish Type) said...

Aww this post was so sweet! He sounds like one awesome little dude. Happy birthday, SS!

patti.mallett_pp said...

I want to grit my teeth and hug your little guy until I start shaking! What a beautiful, and full developed description you gave us. I know that he will have a happy birthday!! How could he not, with all that love?

Jessica said...

This made me cry! Happy Belated Birthday to your little man!

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