We have a 5 year old in the house!

This day has been on the count down for a while now. A while as in, "how many days until i'm 5. Asked most days for at least the last month. This boy could not have been more excited that the day was finally here!!



So to celebrate him on his 'special day' I thought I'd share 10 things We love about him! (brace yourselves people. this may be long for some of you :)....

1. The excitement he shows in everything he does. I often say that he has 'fire in his belly' because he is so passionate about things. what things you ask. Everything. Doing a puzzle. Making pancakes. Eating pancakes. Wrestling with Chad. Reading stories at night. Counting. whatever he's doing, he shows extreme excitement.

2. Zahn is SO SO grateful for things. He will often thank us over and over again when he is given things. Even if they're only little things. I love it when hours later he reflectively thanks us for something that happened so 'long ago'.

3. He is such a good big brother to Jazzy. He plays with her. Takes care of her and makes her laugh.all.the.time. She ADORES him and he her.

4. He is a home-body. He loves to be at home with our family and when someone is away he never feels quite right with that person missing. He loves his family!

5. He is such a loyal good friend. I love it when I see him sacrifice things and give them or share them with his friends. (especially treat food. This means so very much to him :)

6. His hair and his freckles. It was such a shock to see his 'orange' hair when he was born. But now that we 'know' him - he could only have this colour hair. It is just SO him.

7. Sometimes when he talks (and especially sings) his lips kind of 'pout' to one side. Chad and I love it. A LOT! It is ridiculously cute!

8. Zahn is a little artist. He spends hours and hours drawing and colouring in. Each stroke and line is carefully considered before appearing on the page. I love the things that come out of his little mind and are conveyed on paper!

9. He is determined! (other wise known as stubborn :). This has taught me to pick our 'battles' carefully. I love this about him because he has such a strong sense of what HE likes and what HE doesn't like. He's happy and OK with things, even if others don't feel the same way.

9. Zahn is HAPPY! He smiles and laughs OFTEN. I LOVE THIS! The fact that he can and does laugh SO freely may even be right up around number one for me. That might seem funny to be so high on my list, but it's a quality that can and will make life so much more enjoyable for him as he grows. The often say 'humor' is the best medicine and this boy is in no shortage of that. (I should put a disclaimer in here......he is such a happy kid but he can and does throw whooper tantrums. they don't last long. but they do happen. just check out THIS PIC -YOU'LL KNOW THE ONE). He has the kind of smile that when you see it, you think he's about to tell you something really funny. But he's not. It's just his smile. so reflective of the happy kid he is/can be :)

10. He get's so excited when he learns something new. It is such a buzz to watch him learn and show us new found skills or tell us what he 'now knows'. He almost bursts with excitement. I love it when he states (so confidently) something like, "i'm really good at this" or "i'm pretty talented arn't I". His enthusiasm is completely contagious.

In Zahn's baby blessing it stated.....'he will be a great joy to his mother'. How true those words have proven to be. Then and now. MAN I LOVE THIS BOY!

Happy Birthday 5 year old!