Truett turned 9 yesterday, so here’s one for my grown up little man.
♥♥♥
Hey Tru, happy birthday!! Can I just say that I’ve really enjoyed being your mom for the past 9 years? People ask me why I have so many kids and you know you’re part of the reason right? You made the experience of being a mom so great, I just had to have more of these tiny humans, so thanks, I guess.
You’ll always be my first and firsts are something special. Remember the first time you tasted your favourite strawberry shortcake and your squishy face lit up with delight? Or the first time you rode on a rollercoaster and you couldn’t stop talking about it for days? Or the first snow angel you had so much fun making at Mt Buller? You’re like that for me, except waaayyyy better.
There are some downsides to being the first kid, for sure. We try to be ready for what’s ahead, but we’re always going to be noobs when it comes to you. We had to learn the hard way that babies scream uncontrollably at 2 in the morning on their first night home; that newborns are hella slippery in the bath and may slip out of your hands when you think you’ve got this bathing thing down; and that gummies at 9.45 isn’t a great idea. In my defence, we were out late with you and we thought, “3 gummies can’t be that bad…look at how happy he is!” 30 minutes later, so much regret. There are probably a couple more hard lessons ahead of us (hopefully not too many!), but stick with us ok? We’ll figure it out together.
But you know what? Being the first is great because life with you is like watching an awesome movie for the first time without any spoilers. You get to have the full unspoiled experience.
And as far as first kids go, you’re the best any mom could have.
//
This jump from 8 to 9 has been a big one. 8 still had one foot in little kid territory, but 9, 9 feels all grown up somehow.
Remember Finn’s pokemon sports day event a few months ago? The preschool teachers got us to join in the warm up dance, which was less of a serious warm up exercise and more of an adorable singalong session with cute dancey moves. Your siblings were all in, enthusiastically getting their groove on, but as you gradually came to the realisation that this was a kiddie dance, your moves got decidedly noncommittal, the way cool kids phone it in when they’re doing something that’s beneath their coolness level.
It was adorable and I teased you about it, but it’s when I suddenly realised that you’re done being my baby and I’ve got one of them cool kids now.
You’re just the right kind of cool too. Like when Kirsten came back with news that she was made chairperson of her class, you were so proud of her even though you didn’t care much for this sort of thing. You hugged her and said, “woahhh that’s so awesome!! You did really well, Kirsten!” I could tell that meant a lot to her.
9 is so amazing to talk to. Talking to you is one of my favorite things to do. I hope it stays that way because there are so many conversations we need to have. We need to talk about the best patronuses (patroni??) to have, whether we’d rather eat a live worm or a cooked cockroach, and discuss the best strategies for the most epic day at Disney World.
I love how responsible 9 is – helping to clean stuff, watching out for the little ones, giving me killer shoulder massages. It almost makes me look forward to the day Hayley turns 9. Okay, wait, no. That day can take its time to arrive. Although it will be so relaxing urgh I can’t decide.
Most of all, I want to say that having you changed my life. You’re an amazing kid and I can’t wait to see what life holds for you.
xoxo,
Your biggest fan.
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