Adam's Birthday

We just celebrated Adam's Birthday on April 21st. He is finally 5 years old. He has been looking 5 years old for two years now. We had a family party since Tamra and Joseph were sick that day. Batman was the theme and Joseph dressed up as Batman and "stole" the presents. We then went outside armed with silly string to catch the Batman. We found the villain and attacked him with the silly string and forced him to tell us where the presents were. While we were outside, Tamra decided the cake needed a few more candles. She is so helpful! Adam had lots of fun. I was planning on making him a cake, but I couldn't pass up the $5 convenience of Brookshire Brother cake. I know my sister Laurie is probably gagging - but it was pretty good (for the price). Luckily Adam was not disappointed since he doesn't really like cake or ice cream (I know - I don't know where he came from- We are BlueBell Addicts). He just liked blowing out the candles. We sure love that boy! He is learning how to read right now and he is my fastest learner yet. He already knew around 20+ words just by sight before we even started. He is really making my job easier. With the other kids it was a slow and painful process as they sounded out each letter. Adam memorizes super fast and recognizes the words after saying them a few times. I have to admit - I'm impressed. That is one of my favorite things as a mom - witnessing firsthand their progression into a more independent and capable person. I am very proud of all of them and it is amazing to see the beauty of the human mind. Adam has been in speech with Miss Amy since the end of February. He just wasn't talking as much as he should for his age. Since speech, he has progressed in his talking and social play considerably. I think once he felt more comfortable talking, he naturally felt more comfortable playing with others. He never had a problem with brother Joseph or his sisters, but other people were a different thing. We have high hopes that he is growing out of it now and we are just crossing our fingers that he will be ready in August to start Kindergarten. :) He may have a few rough months, but I think he will enjoy learning.

Things of I have learned this year from Adam -- more patience, better communication, greater tolerance for differences in others, greater capacity to love, insight that every child is different and you just have to figure out the individual, and most of all I just feel like an overall better mom because he is my child. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for sending him to me. I needed these lessons and I continue to learn everyday.