Dear Sweet Trace,
I can hardly believe it. You are a whole hand. We have made such big deal about you turning five and now it is here. I cannot fathom that I have had the joy of being your mom for five whole years. Each year I know you I am more amazed by the tiny human you are. You are brave, yet you know your boundaries. You are smart. You are humble and kind, however you are still competitive and so physical. You are sweet, yet boisterous and fun loving. You, Trace, are a true gem to be around.
You have shown so much bravery this year. You have tried so many new things and shown us just how strong you are. This past year you went from being timid and scared in the water to being a great swimmer. I am amazed as I watch my little guy who used to scream through swim lessons jump off the wall and swim across the pool to his teacher. You had to overcome so much fear to be able to do that! This summer you were nervous about riding the chair life in Colorado, but you overcame that fear and were so excited to ride the lift and go down the mountain slide. You also became a great bike rider and ice skater. You keep pushing yourself and learning that when you overcome your fears you can do anything. You are so strong and brave for a little five year old guy!
I also cannot believe just how smart you are. You are growing leaps in bounds in what you know about letters and numbers. You also have a fantastic memory. You can write every letter without any issues, spell your full name, identify sight words and are starting to get ready to read. You are going to blow your kindergarten teacher away! You also love to teach Henry and try to keep up with bigger cousins. When you heard your cousins count in Spanish you came home and learned Spanish on your own. I love your desire to learn and hope that is something you never lose. You are so so smart and I cannot wait to see where you will go with all this knowledge!
You can be so humble and kind when you talk to people. You are quick to compliment others, love to introduce yourself and are so kind with friends and teachers at school. You greet everyone you see and want to be friends with everyone. It is so fun to watch you jump in with friends in cousins in times when you used to be so shy. I love to take you to our favorite restaurants and stores and watch you chat with your favorite employees. Everyone is always so impressed by your ability to talk to anyone. I often talk about how you got this wonderful trait from your Mama Rau. While you are so kind it is so funny (and almost mind blowing) to watch you become so competitive and physical on the soccer field. Your mommy was just stunned by your ability to throw elbows and pull shirts in order to win the ball! I think you are going to be quite the athlete as you get bigger and try more sports.
Trace, Thank you! Thank you for making me a mommy five years ago. You challenged me to learn how to train a baby to sleep and taught me that my capacity to love was much bigger than I ever knew. You truly have a huge heart and great spirit about you. I love you so so much and I am so proud of you. You have grown so much in five years and I cannot wait what the rest of your years will hold. Keep being you, little man, because you are pretty great!
Love you
Mom
