it's fitting to do an update on coen today, because today he turns six! how on earth did that happen. i thought i was ready for this birthday. i thought i wouldn't be as emotional about it, because he really seems like he should be six. but then again most of the time he seems like he should be 40. then each time someone posts a picture or a comment about him my eyes swell up. i long to hold that squishy wide eyed baby again, or play with the spunky toddler that insists his under-roos go on backwards. i want to remember what his voice sounded like when he was 2, 3, 4 but i can't. i can only imagine him 6, and i only hear his thoughtful silly 6 year old voice. at each stage i have wished to freeze time, to keep him small, even though i know it's not possible. really, really i wouldn't want to do that anyway, right? i would miss out on all that is to come. while i know this, i still long to feel each moment from the past. no one can prepare you for how you will love them.
he loves to create. he is always looking for a project or activity. he wants to draw maps, and explore and research, he has a brain for science. on our drive to kona last week he said to wes, "hey dad, you should stay a seismologist for a long time. i might decide to be a seismologist instead of a pilot and then we could drive to work together."
fav aunt sent him a target gift card for Christmas. i took him shopping and he wondered up and down the toys looking and looking. he just kept saying, "none of this interests me." he finally settled on an air hockey table, after i talked him out of a skateboard.
he loves the outdoors. he will play and create and play for hours outside. he always has. i remember the day we left the hospital, he screamed and screamed all the way down the elevator and thru the lobby. as soon as we stepped foot outside and he took one breath of fresh air, he was quiet. we spent countless nights that turned into mornings walking with him in the cool seattle air.
he still likes airplanes, but he tells me "i am more interested in fishing right now." give the kid a pole, a net or even just a bucket and he will fish for hours.
he is a fantastic big brother. i think he really likes that marin is old enough to talk to him, and play with him. he includes her in his games and tolerates her monster-like self. when she says or does something cute he will look at you from across the room and smile this smile like, he just cant's believe she just did that. he calls her honey and sweetheart and treats her so tender. don't totally be fooled though, he's wacked her with a bat too.
i am his favorite, and i am not just saying that. he pulls out lines like,
"you are just my favorite girl in the whole world."
"i miss you so much and you aren't even gone yet."
"mama, i need lots of hugs, kisses and compliments before for school."
"oh mama, why are you so good to me?"
"i will wake up early to have time for snuggles in your bed before breakfast."
this kid is funny. sometimes he is trying to be funny, and that's not really funny, but his natural sense of humor if really entertaining. he is wise beyond his years, and it shows even in his humor.
he really loves school. despite his efforts at times to stay home, deep down he likes it. he will tell me, "i really like school, i just don't like saying goodbye." he is so honest. he loves his family so much. if he could control us all to sit in a room together 24 hours a day, he would. speaking of, he is a control freak. one morning he was extra upset about saying goodbye to me. when he got home that afternoon he looked at me and said, "i heart school. i l-o-v-e school." he also got sent to the principals office a few weeks back. he wasn't listening to his teacher and she sent him off. i heard from the principal that he sat in her office and said to her, "well the thing is mrs. barber, i am just a really smart kid and it makes my brain worry about things." oh really, is that THE thing. coen, you are 6, not 40!
as an incentive for having good mornings and drop offs, he got to earn a new stuffy. like we need anymore. he is obsessed with all his stuffed animals and they all have names and families and feelings. anyway, when we went to buy the new stuffy he picked out 2. i reminded him that he only got one, and he said that he understood. then he marched up to the counter, and told the shop lady that he would like to buy the blue fish and put the owl on hold, "i will be back for it tomorrow."
his newest adventure is little ninjas. we are excited to see how he grows and develops thru this program. being the control freak that he is, it will be a challenge for him. of course that is why we are there, and encouraging him to try his best. we might not be able to understand how our squishy baby turned into this confident 6 year old, but he did. he will keep growing despite my efforts to hold on to him. we are so proud of him, and it is my life's greatest joy to watch him grow.
