Adam, You Are 5!

Dear Adam,

I can’t believe my little baby is 5 years old. You have grown up so much this year with so many changes!

Until this year, you really struggled to come out of your shell and do things independently without your brothers or sister. But recently, I have witnessed you grow up so much and take on new challenges and overcome your extreme shyness.

You started preschool this year and go 3 times a week. You absolutely love it! I don’t think you enjoy waking up early, but once you are in the car on the way to school, you are so happy. You run down the hallway and give your teachers the biggest hug. It makes my heart smile to see you so happy. You have already made so many friends. I’m proud of how you’ve really come out of your shell this year and made new friends wherever you go. Whether it’s at school or church or the pool, kids are drawn to you because of your kind heart and inclusive personality.

Adam, you are such a gentle soul. You care for all living creatures and have a fond appreciation for nature. You enjoy going on walks and looking at different trees and searching for insects. You absolutely love visiting the Columbus Zoo, and could spend an entire day there, learning about different animals and their habitats. But your real passion lives beyond the land and deep in the ocean. You have a fierce love / obsession with the sea. Your interest started with sharks, but this year has manifested to stingrays, sea turtles, dolphins, whales, crabs, eels, fish and so much more. You love watching ocean documentaries, I don’t know how many 5-year olds choose a 2 hour documentary on orcas when asked what they want to watch on tv. You want to be a scuba diver when you grow up and help the living creatures of the sea.

Adam, you excelled in soccer this year playing in both the spring and fall seasons. You were very nervous and intimidated during the spring and didn’t want to play in the games, but after the 4th game of sitting on the sidelines you finally stepped in and ending up scoring 6 goals in your first outing! You are such a great soccer player. You also are a great golfer and have been working with your daddy and Luke training to maybe start U.S. Kids Golf next year.

You love playing with your sister. You are probably the closest to Eden and enjoy playing games with her, making up dances, and working on crafts together. You call each other “twinnies” and spend a lot of time playing make believe.

You also have a love/hate relationship with your baby brother. You love him dearly and enjoy playing cars, planes and trains with him, but sometimes he can annoy you and you want him to leave you alone. Adam, he follows you around because he wants to be just like you! Please be patient with him, he looks up to you so much.

I am so excited to see what year 5 has in store for you. I’m predicting a few vacations, more trips to the aquarium, another year of gymnastics and soccer and so much more.

I pray that you always stay as pure as you are with a kind heart and appreciation for environment. May you always give the best hugs, and never ever lose your signature hairstyle.

Thank you, Adam, for making our lives so much more exciting. You are my special Ad-Rock and I love you more than all the creatures in the sea and more than the yum yum sauce at Bibibop.