Happy Half Birthday to Ty!

So cliche' to say 'where has the time gone?' but in 6 months you have melted my heart. I love you, my lil' hedgehog. I love that you smile with your eyes, and when being playful, your lil' side smirk squishes your lips off-center, and at other times, when beyond happy, your mouth opens to an oversized O and remains that way for a minute straight in sheer annihilated joy! I love that you growl and play peek-a-boo with your giraffe, and love eating pears and peas, and giggle abundantly when naked! I love your short, squatty lil' body and your cute belly-button. I love that your eyes dart the room searching for your big brother, and once spotted, your face displays that famous O mouth, and all is perfect in your world!

And as much as I love you, I don't want to protect you from falling down and getting hurt. If I have learned anything, it's that I've experienced God's grace and Fatherly love much more in the trials than in the joys. Growth can't happen without pain or hurt. I want to hold you with my hands open and trust that God knows better than I on what is best for you, Ty.

But no doubt, I will celebrate the joys well with you too. We'll take weekly adventures and get our hands muddy in search of snails and worms. I promise to take the time to explain life {to the best I know} and not give the quick, easy answer of 'because, that's why!' I promise to apologize when I mess up, and admit when I don't know the answer. I will strive to pave the road only one step ahead of you, so that I'm close enough to walk alongside and guide, but not too far ahead that you have to follow my footsteps in my specific gate. I intentionally promise to encourage you to be YOU~ not Tanner, not your dad, not me, but YOU, our lil' Ty Christian. I promise not to fight your battles for you, but let you learn how to communicate your words in your time. I can't promise I won't hurt when you hurt, but I'll try not to hover, or speak for you, or expect you to be anyone other than Ty.

I want to build forts, and sing at the top of our lungs, and watch you wrestle Tanner, and stay up late, and have family movie nights, and eat too many chocolate chip cookies. I want to throw caution to the wind and live!

I pray now for your heart, that you would ask questions about God, and the future, and creation, and the beach. and that your dad and I would answer those questions with our actions and not necessarily words.

So here's celebrating your the last six months of Ty-ness and here's to 85 more! I'm blessed to be your mom and can't wait to be wowed by YOU simply being you... my lil' hedgehog!