Boo Update

It seems that blogs are becoming outmoded. I suppose mine is no exception. Anyway, I have been thinking lately that since I do a generally poor job of record keeping, the least I could do would be to write about each of my children and express my love to them on their birthdays. Boo's birthday has come and gone, but I wanted to start with him.

Dear Boo,

I am SOOOO glad to be your Mommy!!! You are such a happy, intelligent, kind-hearted, fun little boy and you make me smile everyday.

This year has brought some new experiences for all of us. You started Kindergarten! I don't know if I could have envisioned several years ago the day when you would go to school. You are in a small class with other beautiful children who also have special needs. They are your friends. Your face lights up when we talk about them and I know that there are a number of them who love to hold your hand during the day and play with you. They help you to behave more appropriately in the classroom, and you help them with their social skills as well. School is fun for you.

You are so smart! You have been learning how to read for the past year and it has gone very well. It took awhile for me to convince your teacher that you do, in fact, know how to read, since you speak so quietly and other people do not always understand your words. Just today though, a psychologist was telling me how impressed she was that, although she didn't understand what you were saying, you looked at her and acted like you fully expected her to. This is a good thing, developmentally.

You do some super endearing things that make me realize even more that you are a perfect spirit inside of a body with some serious limitations. One of your favorite things to do, in YOUR words is to "take all those toys on a stroller ride to see all those trucks!" You have always loved to watch the trucks on the freeway. Dad left a small hole in the fencing (about 3-4 feet) where he hoped to put a gate. Now we are keeping the hole indefinitely because you love to load up all your toys, blankies, laundry baskets, shoes, and anything else you find inside of my double jogging stroller and roll them across the backyard and dump them out right by that hole so they can see all those trucks too. How thoughtful!!!

You love blankies, especially the soft ones that you got when you were a newborn. You love to carry them around and snuggle us up in them every chance you get. You, of course, also love trucks, cars, trains, and all things that you can somehow pretend are vehicles (ie, pencils, hairspray cans, etc). You are starting to get over the pots and pans, but they still hold some appeal. You love taking your shoes off, and wouldn't you know it - all the new shoes I have bought for you in the past few months have been of the variety that you can take off by yourself at any given moment! (This was unintentional, of course!)

So far this summer, we have had a ton of fun at the cabin. We went up to Yellowstone a few times, and you hiked like a champ, never complaining. You loved the geysers and walking around on the boardwalks. You were so excited for your souvenir: a Yellowstone semi truck! You talk about your Yellowstone truck frequently, and you can name a number of the animals on it. For those animals you don't know, you call them either a "dog...woof woof!" (ie. wolf, bison) or a "kitty cat...meow!" (ie. mountain lion). You love riding on the Gator at the cabin, even though it makes me supremely nervous. You also love going to Grandpa's store to drive in those trucks!

At the end of the school year this year, you and I got to go on a field trip with all the kindergarteners to a farm. You LOVED watching all those cows get into that big truck to go on vacation to Idaho for the summer. They banged around like crazy in there and you laughed and laughed. Then, after we saw some other things, you started heading back and said "OK Boo, let's get in that truck!" We had so much fun!

I love watching you with your sisters. You always play so nicely with them. I believe that you would sometimes rather be doing your own thing, but you are ALWAYS kind to them and share with them. You frequently turn on their favorite shows for them, which they appreciate and which I do not always. :) And you always defer to them when they want something you have.

Your piano playing is unparalleled. Basically, one has to see you play to believe it. Just this week, we were singing a song as a family, and you went downstairs and played the song - in the same key we were singing in! Your talent is truly God-given.

You do a great job of helping around the house. You have been known to unload many things from the dishwasher, clean up toys, dust, clean windows, vacuum, and throw things in the garbage, among probably other things I can't think of right now. You even go so far as to occasionally put dirty dishes away for me! :) I love it!

Boo, I would sometimes wish for your limitations to subside so you could experience the world more fully, but I know that you, more than most, are living the life that your Heavenly Father intended. You are a remarkable example and light to many and you bring tremendous joy to our family. You are truly "like a star!" Thanks for being our boy!!!

Love,
Mom