Happy 5th Birthday, Joshua!

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

Yes, happy 5th birthday to Joshua. And as mommy's often say, I can't believe that Joshua is actually five years old. I very much remember the day he was born. I was exhausted after 23 hours of labor, then a c-section, but I will never forget looking at Joshua's face for the very first time. I could not believe that this beautiful baby had been growing inside of me for 9 months. He was handsome. A head full of black hair, and his eyes open so wide to the world. All of the nurses and staff in the delivery room continued to comment on how alert Joshua was. I insisted on nursing him right away even though Nana, Papa Ed, and Lisa had been outside in the waiting room for a long time. Your family was so proud. Daddy called everyone he knew. It was the best day of my life. Daddy and I had difficulty sleeping because we were busy staring at you the whole evening. We insisted on keeping you in the room with us. But we managed to watch a few fireworks out the window. That was a most amazing day!

As Grandpa Al would have said, this is not your actual birthday, but your 4th birth anniversary. For the second year straight, you spent your birthday with your cousins in Minnesota. And we spent the day boating on Lake Minnetonka. Joshua was quite a fish - going everywhere in the water. You were not afraid of a thing. Luke loved the water, too. At Joshua's request, we went to Teresa's, an authentic Mexican restaurant, for dinner. Dinner was followed by roasting marshmallows, catching fire flies, and having a perfect summer evening with the cousins.

When we came back from Minnesota, you celebrated your birthday with the neighbors, friends from school, and Isaac and Levi. We had a treasure hunt at the city park. It was a great birthday party, and the rain even held out for us. It was fun to have so many friends at the party. I hope these are children that will be your friends for a long time.

This will be a most special year for you as you begin kindergarten. I am so excited that you will be going to my school. I know you are ready for school. You are so eager and excited to learn new things. Learning seems to be so easy and natural for you. As you go through school, school will get harder. Try not to get frustrated and approach school and a challenge, head on. Just as you approach problems now. There is not anything that you can not do. You are an intelligent, bright boy with a kind heart. And in case I did not tell you today, I love you more today than yesterday.

Love,

Mama