Halfway to Nine?!

Dear One,

Four and a half. Garrett, that seems about as possible as the fact that I'll be thirty in September which, in case you're confused, is not possible at all. It was yesterday that you were incredibly small and making that weird snore-grunt sound with every exhaled breath. Yesterday that you looked up at me and smiled for the very first time. Yesterday that you took your first steps across my bedroom in California.

In reality, it was yesterday that daddy picked you up from preschool and you spouted all your knowledge about octopuses. The magic letter was U, which, of course, says, "uh" and "you". And, once again, you informed me that Web is your best bud ever. Of all time. Forever.

Last week we got information in the mail about Tae Kwon Do, t-ball and soccer. You went practically berserk over the chance to play soccer. It doesn't even start for a month but you ask, ten times a day at least, if you can, "go play soccer on my team right now, mommy? Right now?" Part of it is probably the fact that you and daddy went and bought new soccer shoes while I gone this past weekend and you are hopelessly desperate to wear them. Son, you should know that mommy is not a fan of soccer. She is secretly hoping that you'll excel at football or swimming or, even, curling. Anything but soccer. Alright, truthfully, I'm a little excited to watch you bumble over the field, in a clump of preschoolers, chasing the ball in your new shoes. I'm pretty thrilled that it's indoors because last April, when you played t-ball, it was really not warm. So, go. Go play soccer. Have fun. Score a goal for me.

You are, by far, my favorite four-year-old. This is a fact that I make sure you're aware of. "Who's my favorite four-year-old?" I ask, mid cuddle.

And you grin your precious smile at me--the one that's been melting my heart since you were a couple of weeks old--and reply, "I am."

I also tell you, repeatedly, the story of a mommy and a daddy who wanted a baby so so so so bad. But God made them wait. The mommy and the daddy didn't like waiting and the mommy cried a lot. They prayed and prayed that God would give them a baby. After they learned a lot about waiting on the Lord, He blessed them with a baby. And...

"That baby was me!" You exclaim with a twinkle in your eye.

See, I believe in remembering. I believe in not letting you grow up without knowing what the Lord has done for us. I believe in generation upon generation praising His name. So believe it, to the very core of your being, when I tell you that the very best gifts, my son, are worth waiting for.

You say the funniest things, ask 12,000 questions a day, insist on helping me in the kitchen, dress up like a pirate on an almost daily basis, beg me to take you swimming or sledding constantly, and love to listen to me read to you out of chapter books. You're spiritually sensitive and, sometimes, I think that you're teaching me more about the Lord than I'm teaching you.

It is just not possible that in six months you'll be five. While I might be having a personal problem with how quickly you're growing up, I am proud of the little man you're becoming. I love you all the way to the moon and back.

Love,
Mommy

Four and a half-Year-Old Interview

I've decided that while he's little, I should interview him twice a year.

1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE T. V. SHOW? Dragon Tales and Lazy Town and Little Bill

2. WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Cereal and a cup full of milk.

3. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? John. John. John. I mean, John the Baptist. I've been learning about John the Baptist. (Um. We did not name him Garrett John the Baptist. I promise. His middle name, however, is John.)

4. FAVORITE FOOD? Pancakes.

5. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Mashed potatoes (Same answer as last time. And so very true. Although he ate some last night without complaining.)

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Brown and black and blue (The blue part is new and might have something to do with it being my favorite color.)

7. FAVORITE LUNCH? Bananas and toothpaste. (I told him to be serious) It's grilled cheese.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO? Ride my bike.

9. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? I would go to Hawaii.

10. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer ball!

11. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? In July. (Apparently the day is not important to him)

12. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? A morning person.

13. PETS: Beck and Ollie.

14. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? I like to play in my playhouse, read the newspaper and I'd like to have a mouse

15. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP ? A paleontologist. (He's wanted to be this for awhile. It doesn't help that we just went to the Dinosaur museum and he got to dig up dinosaur bones. I hope he realizes he's going to be hot and dirty all the time.)

16. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? I like hard chocolate candies on a stick. (All I can think of is that he likes See's suckers.)

17. WHERE IS THE FARTHEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii.

18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK? The Little House in the Big Woods.

19. WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? That I got my Alphabet crown! (It was a proud moment, son.)

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? Narnia. (Two weeks ago I would have told you that it was How to Train Your Dragon, hands down. But then he became obsessed with Narnia.)

21. WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG? The egg. (Then he said, "Am I right?" I told him it was an opinion question.)

And, for fun, I asked him the same questions that James Lipton asks at the end of Inside the Actor's Studio.

1. What is your favorite word? thank you
2. What is your least favorite word? saying sorry to people
3. What turns you on? (I rephrased with, "What do you like?") riding my bike
4. What turns you off? (I rephrased with, What don't you like?") I don't like saying stupid.
5. What sound or noise do you love? elephants squirting water and crocodiles going snap, snap, snap and coyotes yelling (Well alrighty.)
6. What sound or noise do you hate? People saying, "Everybody is stupid."
7. What is your favorite curse word? (I asked him what his favorite bad word was. He responded with) dumb (First I had to explain that it was okay for him to answer and I wouldn't be mad.)
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Being a Grandpa (Melt my heart.)
9. What profession would you not like to do? Be a karate kid
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? (I omitted the "If Heaven exists" part) Well done. You died. (When he said, "Well done," I just about passed out from thinking my kid was adorably amazing. He paused and then, with this dramatic flat voice, declared, "You died." And I laughed hysterically.)