Cooper's 4th Birthday Letter from Mommy

Cooper,

Oh my sweet boy!!  How in the world are you 4 years old??  It seriously feels like just yesterday that I was pregnant with you.  And now you're not a baby anymore!  4 years old seems like such a big boy to me!  Gone is my baby and my toddler, and in his place is a little boy!

I am so so proud of you, Cooper.  This has been a big year for you!  You are (finally!!) potty trained, you completed your first year of preschool, and you are just growing up to be such an awesome kid!  There is nothing that you won't try or do - you are absolutely fearless.  I think some of this stems from your personality, and some of it stems from having a big sister to imitate.  You love roller coasters, fireworks, going fast, and playing hard.  The scarier, the better!  I'll be honest - it partly makes me proud, but mostly scares me - haha.  I have to keep up with you to make sure you're safe, for sure!

You have also gained so much independence this year.  You love to figure things out yourself and do them alone.  You did your first chore chart this summer and flew through it so fast.  You love acting like a big boy.  That is a sure fire way to get you to do something - to tell you that it makes you a big boy. 

Just like always, you are such a silly, happy boy.  You love to laugh and make others laugh with you.  You seriously have *the best* laugh ever.  I absolutely adore it.  Getting to see you smile or laugh is the best part of my day - hands down!

This year, while great, also wasn't the easiest.  We dealt with the "terrible three's" for quite a bit of it.  While you still aren't out of them, I think I can see the end in site.  ;)  You very much know what you want, and you aren't afraid to let us know if you're unhappy with something!  I will say this - you are easily distracted into something happier when you do get upset.  It is much easier to set you in another direction than it was for us to do the same thing with LL at this age.

I have adored watching you grow and learn this year.  I love your excitement for life and everything that comes along with it.  You are the textbook definition of living life through the eyes of a child.  I can not wait to see what this next year has in store for you.  You are going to have a blast being 4 (I know it), and we're all going to have fun watching you do it. 

I love you my sweet boy!
-Mommy