FOUR

January 2004

January 2008

I blinked. And this is what happened. SERIOUSLY. How in the world is this precious boy of mine already FOUR years old? This birthday is hitting me HARD. Harder, I think, than it will be for me to turn 30 in April. It is the perfect definition of bittersweet for me. Bitter becuse my baby is not a baby anymore, but so sweet because he is turning into the most incredible little boy! He’s not a baby anymore, he’s a little boy. It’s not that I’m not excited about the person he’s growing up to be. I so am. He’s really amazing. It’s just that I miss the “baby” so much. Have you ever thought about the last time that you get to hold your child? I mean, when will he crawl into my lap or lay his head on my shoulder for the last time? Will I know it’s the last time so that I can remember it forever? Probably not. And THAT is the part that makes me sad.

This boy has completely changed me. Both of my children have changed me, but there is no doubt that it all started with Makgill, my firstborn. I can’t even come close to putting into words how much I love him. It’s overwhelming and it’s a kind of love that I never knew existed until four years ago. It takes my breath away, and it grows stronger everyday. My mom used to say “just wait, you’ll see how it is someday”. And four years ago, I finally did. Loving him has made all of the other loves in my life grow so much deeper…God, Collin, my parents. It’s like it all changed the day that I had Makgill.

Okay, this is supposed to be a HAPPY post about the coolest little boy that I know. Enough of the depressing thoughts about how fleeting childhood is. From here on out, nothing but bragging on this super-cute boy that the Lord has blessed us with. So bear with me. I’m just a bit biased when it comes to him. 🙂

As I mentioned earlier, Makgill is an AMAZING little boy. He makes us laugh til we cry all the time, just by being himself. He loves his Mommy and Daddy and baby sister. But we also drive him completely crazy. Just the way it should be, right?

He still loves anything that goes…fast cars, boats, airplanes, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, anything. And he’s definitely a chauvenist about it. One day we were reading a book about tractors, and it showed a woman driving one. He stared and stared, and finally said “that’s just a man with long hair, right Mommy?” And he is APPALLED when he sees a man and woman in a car together and the woman is driving. It simply makes no sense to him. He KNOWS without a shadow of doubt that men are better drivers than women, and there is no convincing him otherwise. I have no idea where he gets this, but it is kind of funny to see how passionate he is about it.

He’s spelling and counting up a storm. He is in the early stages of “sounding it out” to learn what something says. He can write his name and most letters, and count by fives up to 35 I think. He’s BRILLIANT, I know. 😉 But seriously, he’s so much smarter than I ever thought a kid of mine could be. I LOVE listening to the things that come out of his mouth. It’s so clear that he understands so much more than I think he does. He loves school. Loves his teachers, his lessons, his friends, lunch, EVERYTHING. This year has been so good for him. He recently decided that he was “big enough” for the Safety Catrol (Patrol) to walk him into school. He doesn’t need Daddy to walk him to his class anymore. That was one of those proud/sad days for Collin.

His newest favorite thing right now is the book “Will: God’s Mighty Warrior”. If there is a little boy in your life that you love, GET HIM THIS BOOK!!! It is SOOO BOY and SOOO GOOD! It teaches about the armor of God and how to be a strong man of God. Some mornings, Mak wakes up and says “My name’s not Makgill, it’s God’s Mighty Warrior”. That does this Mama’s heart GOOD! This year, he’s having a “Mighty Makgill” birthday party, an inspiration from this book. He got a new loft bed from Collin and me for his birthday, and he calls the bottom part God’s fort. He’s all about fighting off the “bad guys” whether he’s a pirate, a warrior, or a super-hero. “Rule-breakers” and “mean people” make him very angry. It’s cute to see how serious he gets about it. Of course, this passion he has doesn’t necessarily apply when he is the “rule-breaker” (which he is…often).

He jumps everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! He runs, rarely walks anywhere. He is just a huge ball of energy that goes, goes, goes! He gave up his nap very soon after his third birthday, but continues to have an early bedtime of 7:30 or so. He’s a great sleeper at night, and usually comes to our room to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy at 6am or so. We love this!

He definitely learns by watching. He is so curious and wants to see how things work. This morning, we had plumbers at the house trying to fix our hot water heater, and even though it was FREEZING outside, he was out there with them the whole time, just watching. I think this is why Montessorri school has been such a good option for him. He loves learning from the older kids.

I could go on and on about this wonderful boy of mine. He treats each day as a new adventure, and brings an energy to this house that I never knew we were missing. He has my heart, and I truly feel blessed to be his mother.

Daddy and I are so proud of you, Baby Mak. We love you more than you could ever imagine. You are the perfect son for us, and the perfect brother to Clara Beth. We look forward to seeing the man that you grow up to be, but we are so enjoying the little boy that you are. Please don’t grow too fast. Your poor Mama just can’t take it! WE LOVE YOU!!!

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; Stand firm in the faith; Be men of courage; Be Strong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAKGILL!!!

And, of course, the slideshow of our little Superhero just doing his thing…