{2.5}

Dear Kai,

You are such a special gift to me; to all of us, really. It sounds trite, but I honestly thank God for you every single day. I don't necessarily do the thanking while you are fit throwing/refusing to take a nap/insisting on eating everything in the refrigerator/biting brothers/making a 25 ft radius of pure mess around your booster chair/digging up flowers.

But those moments are always softened by your charm.

God wrapped our family in this ribbon of you at the end of our immediate family tree. This final package of all boy-ness to keep us on our toes and keep us laughing every day of our lives.

So much of who you will be remains to be seen. But I know enough. I know you will be a blessing for the rest of your life. You were created for some really special purposes, and watching them unfold will be a high honor for this mama.

Tomorrow you will be 2 1/2. When we ask you how old you will be at your birthday (right now you are obsessed with your birthday, already articulating your guest list, and what cake you want), without missing a beat you say "six".

Please, please, please, let's NOT rush this any more than it has to be. You are already outgrowing babyhood way too fast. You are an intelligent, active, trike riding, alphabet singing (out of order as it may be), iPad playing, 2 1/2-going-on-6-year old.

...And of course I remember my cuddly newborn with the silky black hair and creamy blue eyes. Warm, soft, cuddly; how quickly things change. You are now brown haired and hazel eyed. Sometimes warm, but way too fast to be cuddly most days. More gritty (we love dirt!) than soft. :) 

You are an answer to prayer and you are my heart. The way you are taking in so many aspect of your world is amazing to watch. You grasp so much that I would think you too young for. But here you are - ready to battle clone troopers with Jay and save the world with sticks and clods of dirt...

Happy 2 1/2 my baby boy. Lets just hold off on six for a while, K?