My sweet little Cody...
I cannot believe that you are already THREE years old! On one hand, you seem so much older and then I remind myself that you are ONLY three and barely at that and you are suddenly such a baby to me. You've always been much older than you really are, perhaps a curse of heredity since I seem to always have been as well. Sure it's cool in your teens, but hit your thirties and tell me how you feel! :)
You are often a force to be reckoned with, but it is that strength and determination that I know will take you so far in life. Of course it is a headache for me quite often, but you quickly flash that smile of yours at me, and I am reminded that you are just you and you will never be one to lay down for anyone.
You were a blessing I did not know I needed, a surprise, a gift that I did not know I wanted for. Yes, you were a surprise for us, but what an amazing surprise! The best I've ever gotten! You were feisty in the womb and I knew you'd be that way when you got here...I was not wrong at all! I was already under the assumption you would come out swinging and thought of warning the doctors to watch out for a sucker punch!
The sweetest sound I am sure I've ever heard was you. I did not get to hear Kade's first cry when he was born, though I'd dreamt of it for months. When I found out about you...I again dreamt of what you would sound like, what it would be like to finally hear you make a noise, rather than feel you fighting to get out! It was so surreal when I did finally hear you that I thought it was someone else having a baby in the next room. My heart leapt from my chest when they exclaimed that it was indeed MY baby that I heard crying! Then over the curtain came this mass of thick black hair and I was overcome with love and joy. I wanted to hold you so badly right then, but I had to wait. Your Daddy held you to me so that I could kiss your forehead for the first time.
You have always been a Mommy's baby, and even though you go through phases and tell me you are Daddy's boy...I know deep down you will still run to me and snuggle down in my chest for a cuddle.
You are the epitome of tough and sweet all rolled into one precious little boy. You are by all means, the very definition of boy as well! All trains, planes and cars. Dinosaurs, dirt, sand, running, falling, laughing really loud and screaming at the top of your lungs. You are non-stop play. That is all there is to it. It takes a stranger all of 60 seconds to deem you, " always busy" and they are so right. You do not sit and stare at pictures or books, you do not sit and watch TV or watch the grass grow. You are always on the move, even in your sleep. It is unfortunate, that your Mommy and Daddy do not have the energy stores that you do...how we wish we did!
You have the most fun personality and you share it with everyone! You LOVE music and love to dance! We dance together quite often and that is one of the things I will forever look back on and smile at every time for the rest of my life. You love all music, but your favorites have always been reggae and pop/hip-hop. However for the past several months, your favorite song has been Footloose and that is also your favorite movie! When we watch Footloose I have to replay the beginning at least 5 times over and over so you can mimic the feet. You've nearly got it down to the second now! It was one of my very favorite movies when I was a little kid too though...so how can I blame you?
Sometimes, I think I get a bit too defensive in your honor. That is my right though, but sometimes people only see how high strung and intense you are and they do not see that angelic little boy that is really under all that independence and determination. You will fight and scream, kick and hit to open the door BY YOURSELF, but then instantly cry and hug my leg apologizing. You hide behind me when strangers speak to you, but then run off and play and tell them stories and show them bugs you found.
Everything MUST be your idea or you will have no part in any of it. You refuse help nearly every single time it is ever offered to you, no matter how much you need it...often coming back seconds after an epic battle of wills and ask for the help you were offered in the first place. While my impatience really wishes you'd just let me do it for you to start with, I do try with every ounce of my being to let you figure it out on your own. Your famous words, " NOT YOU!!! Me!!!!! I WILL DO IT!!! NOT YOU!!!!!" . In case you might not remember someday when you are older and read this, you have possibly one of the loudest screams known to man. I swear some days that I will be more deaf than your Daddy after he's worked on jet engines for 20+ years! If I make it out of your toddler/preschool years with my hearing intact it will be a miracle!
The thing is though, I know no matter where you go, or what you do...you will be heard. You will make sure that you are not left behind, overlooked or pushed aside. You will ALWAYS fight for what you want and not stop until you get it. So I know, that even as I see gray hair after gray hair pop up, that you will take life by the proverbial horns and throw it down if it does not go your way. That is something any mother can take comfort in.
If there is nothing else in this world at all that I want for you and Kade...it is that you will always go after what YOU want and not let anyone else ever change your mind. You must be proud of who you are, what you do, what you love and who you want to be and NEVER be intimidated by those who are too afraid to do that themselves.
You might be afraid of "lightenin-ing" and extremely loud noises, but you are not scared at all of life and living it for all you can get out of it and that makes me smile.
You achieve far beyond what is expected of you and never expect much fanfare for it, as much as I try ;).
Your smile, your beautiful crooked smile. It can nearly bring me to tears sometimes, even to think of it. Your smile could bring world peace I think, if everyone in the world were exposed to it just once a day...they would forget all their troubles and just smile right back. You can have me frazzled and fried and turn that smile on and it is all instantly gone away.
I love how you snuggle up with your animals, Ralph and Bob every night. They must speak to you before you go to sleep, give you kisses and I have to tuck them in just right or you cannot relax. :0) You always ask Ralph and Bob if they want to go with you next time when they ask about what you did that day. I love how you wake up in the middle of the night, usually too early in the morning, and quietly crawl in our bed and snuggle up with me. I love how you scold others for not saying 'thank you' when it's necessary and you never ever let your brother go off to school without giving you a hug first. You absolutely adore your older brother and he adores you right back. I love that you guys insisted on sharing a room and freak out at the mere mention of ever not sharing. You love being together and always say you are best friends.
You will never allow us to even mix up your nicknames, for you quickly correct us that YOU are not a monkey, you are a bug...thank you very much! ;o)
You are, the most precious little boy, the greatest gift and the perfect surprise. You completed our family and your zest for life and action and going, and doing and seeing, and telling is something that always keeps us on our toes and always will. You are our little energizer bunny, and we will always run to keep up with you!
You are the thing I never knew I needed until I had you in my arms and I cannot imagine a single day without you. You are the chaos and entertainment of the family and we absolutely adore you for it. You are the baby of the family on both sides and luckily, you've yet to realize it! ;o)
We love you, and are so very thankful for you and hopefully the days don't go by too fast before I've got to write you another birthday letter!
Happy Birthday my sweet little bug!
We love you with all our hearts!
