Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Imagine our surprise when we woke up on the morning of Nathan's 5th birthday to find 5 inches of snow on the ground! There was no snow in the forecast, so we were completely taken off guard. As one of my friends said, "I'm going to be busy this morning--I've got to shovel five inches of partly cloudy off my driveway!" Any snow in Southaven is a pretty special event, but to get snow on your birthday is really special! So, in honor of a very special day for a very special boy, here is a post dedicated just to Nathan!

Nathan doesn't really like to play in the snow. He likes to take long walks with Mommy when it snows and look at "other people's snow," but he doesn't want to roll around in it and get really cold, wet, and messy.

Nathan loves our (his) cat, Dorothy. We found Dorothy when she was just a kitten in the backyard of the empty house behind us. Matt likes to tell people that I stole her, but she had clearly been abandoned. Our previous cat hated Nathan, and her animosity towards him was the reason we had to give her away. Dorothy, on the other hand, adores Nathan. He carries her everywhere, and she lets him. No matter how badly he treats her, he is still the first one she runs to when she sees us. In fact, even after he threw her in the bathtub last night (he said he wanted to know if cats were buoyant) she waited until he was asleep and went to curl up in the bed next to him. I think poor Dorothy is a classic example of Stockholm syndrome.

Nathan is a little bit accident prone. When I saw this shirt that said, "I do all my own stunts," I had to get it for him! He has a tendency to hit his head in one particular spot--he has three different scars and a permanent knot all in the same place! Matt and I think we've done well if we can make it through a year without having to take Nathan to the ER!

He is an adoring big brother. Nathan is the early riser in our house, and each morning after he wakes up, he listens anxiously for the first sounds of stirring from Lily's room. As soon as he thinks she might be up, he opens the door and runs in. He got a little over-zealous a few times, so now we make him ask to make sure it's alright to go in! When he comes in from playing outside, one of the first questions he asks is "Where's Lily?" There was never a moment of resentment or jealousy when we brought her home from the hospital--he has loved her from the moment he saw her. He loves his big sister, too, and they spend hours playing together and coming up with creative ways to entertain themselves. I am so thankful to see the love that my children have for one another!

Nathan is also a big snuggler. I think that one of the reasons he gets up so early in the mornings is the hope that he will find Mommy or Daddy still in bed, so he will have someone to snuggle up and cuddle with. Sometimes this drives Lydia crazy, because when they sit down to watch a video together, Nathan expects her to snuggle with him!

He is the king of silly faces! It's so hard to get a picture with a serious expression or a real smile!

Notice his Auburn sweatshirt in this picture--Sunday night Lily and I came straight home from church and after I put her to bed, I turned on the Super Bowl. Matt, Lydia, and Nathan came home a few minutes later. Nathan walked in, glanced at the television, and ran to his room. In a few minutes he ran back in wearing his Auburn sweatshirt and hopped on the couch, ready to watch a ballgame!

This picture was taken the morning of his birthday. He wanted to sleep in his Auburn shirt after the Super Bowl, and since it was his birthday the next morning, we let him do what he wanted!

He is opening his "birthday stocking." Lydia and Nathan love getting their Christmas stockings so much that we made them a special stocking just for their birthday. I know, it's kind of odd, but they like it!

There are so many other things that make Nathan special. I remember watching "Where the Red Fern Grows" with him and Lydia. When Old Dan died and Little Ann was wasting away, Nathan jumped up and ran from the room. I was worried about him for a minute, but then he came running back in with a box of tissues--or as he calls them, "tennis-shoes." He has some adorable mispronunciations for words, and I know it will make me very sad when he quits calling buffalo "buffalopes" or meatloaf "meatwolf."

I can hardly believe my sweet baby boy is five years old. It's been a wonderful five years, and I have enjoyed every minute of watching God's hand at work on my son. In ways, it is sad to see him growing up, knowing that I will never have those baby days again. One day, he'll be too big to crawl in bed and cuddle with us. Even now, it happens less frequently. One day, he'll be embarrassed that he ever cried at the end of sad movies. I am looking forward to watching him grow into a godly young man, but I'm beginning to realize that he's not my baby boy anymore.