Dear Kaplan,

You handsome little sucker are FIVE!

One. Whole. Hand.

You've grown up so much this year.  You're basically like a full on big kid now (I just don't always like admitting it...)

You are full on country boy through and through.  You love to be outside--in the ditch, in the woods, in the dirt, on the boat, on the side by side, in the deer stand or duck blind, all of it.  You also love to catch lizards and frogs and worms (but you are absolutely terrified of anything that could possibly sting or bite you).  

This year, you upped your sleeping game.  You are such a bear to wake up in the mornings (that should make starting school next year so much fun...)  Snuggling is still your favorite and I love that.  

Kaplan...you can weave a story like nobody's business.  You pay attention to all the details and the process and can recite them back just fine.  The only problem is that is takes you a loooong time to tell your stories.  Long-winded, you are ;)

You finally got brave in water this year and absolutely love to go swimming (still with a puddle jumper).  Going to the beach is your favorite camp activity--plus that means a boat ride, another favorite of yours.  

You are a mama's boy all the way.  You always have been, but it really amped up since you've had your teeth worked on (that trauma stuck you to me like glue).  It's kind of weird to think this will be your last year at home with me, but I'm so excited to see how much you learn in school.  That being said, you are also daddy's buddy (he calls you "wee man").  You love to be his helper and go on all the adventures you can with him.  He loves it too :)

At the end of May, you got to go on your first big "no parent" trip with Mimi and Papa!  They brought you, Aby, Evan, and KK to Colorado and you had an absolute blast.  You got to see a lot of animals (your favorite was the wolf), ride the gondola over the Royal Gorge, fish in the same pond I did growing up, and play in the snow!  You thought you were hot stuff traipsing across the country without mama and daddy OR your brother and sister.

You've become a little bit violent this year... :/  I blame Papa!  You and Landry love to wrestle--which usually leads to one of you getting hurt and it turns in to a real fight which is completely exhausting for me.  However, you two are thick as thieves and have each other's backs to the end--this gives me a preview of you two as teens and adults and it makes me so, so happy.  You and Bella are also quite the little team, coming up with all kinds of imaginative games to play (and she does her fair share of wrestling with you too...).  You'll tell each other secrets and give hugs and make plans.  I hope all three of you are always best friends.

This was your first year to get to play t-ball!  You've been so (im)patiently waiting to be old enough to be on a team.  You played for the Twins through Bridge City Little League and loved every minute.  You got several good hits and (while most of the other kids weren't paying attention) watched the ball the whole time, ready to "make a play".  It was basically herding cats, but it was a start, and you loved it.  Plus you were unbelievably cute in your uniform.

Surprise, surprise--you still love music (which I hope never changes).  Daddy has a playlist for the boat and you know every single song on there; and you get so pumped when you hear them out and about!  You also love all of the songs from the Descendants movies (Kidz Bop is our current favorite Pandora station), TobyMac, and the songs you've learned at VBS and Kids Rock Jr.  

You love books and reading (I also hope this never changes).  Library story time is one of our favorite summer activities!  You also learned how to write your name several weeks ago which turned in to learning a bunch of other names and letters.  You will sit for hours and write and write and write.

You're still a very friendly child and make new friends easily.  You're not super shy (especially if I'm not around) and love to play with other kids--at church, at the gym, anywhere you can find them.  I hope you'll always be the kind kid. 

Kaplan Paul, you are little ball of energy who adds a dose of extra fun and extra sweet to our family.  And you're too cute for any of us to handle.  You'll always be our favorite Kap :)

Your daddy and I will fight for you, protect you, teach you, and love you every single day of our lives.  You will always be our precious, perfect son; our second baby; our beautiful, blessed gift. 

Happy birthday, sweet boy!  I  love you more than you will ever know.

xoxo, mama

Dear Kaplan,

FOUR!

I don't know who told you that it was ok for you to turn four.  That's just too grown up and I don't think I approve...

In all honesty though, I am truly loving watching you grow up!  You are such a fun little kid with a spunky personality.  Your wit and charm are almost too much to handle (especially combined with your "New Orleans mixed with Boston" accent--no clue where that came from, but I love it).  

Probably my favorite thing you do started last year, but you've continued it full force.  You come up to me and dad and with either a wink or a hug, say, "you're my favorite mom/dad".  We always respond, "you're my favorite Kap".  It's random and perfect every single time.

You are still such a little snuggle bug (and have been from day one)!  Sometimes you just need some physical touch, which means we get lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles.  So ok with that. 

In January this year, you had to have some pretty major dental work done.  We discovered a few months before then that none of your molars had enamel on them (daddy and I had noticed something was up as soon as your teeth came in--but the dentist confirmed it was no enamel).  This meant your teeth were literally crumbling and could cause major problems since you would still have them for a long time (even though they're baby teeth).  We had to bring you to a Pediatric Dentist (Dr. McQuade--we loved her) and get nine crowns put on.  I dreaded that day for a long time...  You did so well through the whole process, but it was pretty awful.  It took three days before you would do anything without me holding you and you couldn't eat much for a while either.  Now though, you're great and love showing people your "new teeth"!

You pay attention to so many details.  When you retell a story or an event, it always amazes me all the little things you remember and point out, step by step.  And you talk...a lot.  

Daddy is still your main man and favorite adventure partner (even though you will always be a mama's boy!).  You don't miss many opportunities to go out on the boat/side by side or to the camp/lease or to work on something in the shop/yard.  If dad's going, so are you. When he was framing up and leveling dirt to build his shop, you stayed out there all day long using a full shovel to help spread the dirt.  You go and go until the job is done (or until you've got absolutely nothing left). 

Daddy also brought you hunting for the first time this year!  You were so excited--even though it poured down rain on y'all.  They only killed one duck, but you're convinced you're the one who shot it (even though you didn't even shoot a gun, haha!).  You've also gotten to go froggin' and catch a huge mess of fish out there.  Little outdoorsman in the making, for sure.  

We also went on a Disney cruise this year (with Mimi and Papa and family) and you LOVED it!  You soaked in every bit of fun and food and family you could and have been begging to go back since the minute we got off the ship!  You loved playing in the waves at the edge of the beach.  We also got to swim with a dolphin!  You were very uncomfortable with this at first and latched onto me like a leech (it didn't help that the water was freeeeeezing); but by the end you were petting and feeding him and absolutely enjoying yourself!  So much fun.

Since Bella is in school now, it's just you and Landry during the day.  You two have become best buddies.  You wrestle and play ball and race cars and chase each other around the house.  The giggles are endless!  Don't get me wrong, y'all fight like cats and dogs (it's a major power struggle...); but you also love each other so well.  

That being said, both of your favorite part of the day is when Bella comes home!  She always adds another dimension to the fun (and the noise).  The three of you have SO much fun together.  

One night as you and Bella were racing from the back door to daddy's chair, y'all got tangled up and you fell into the side of the chair.  You screamed a very different scream and cried for a while.  But since it was bed time and i could move your arm, I figured it was just bruised and put you to bed.  You woke up a ridiculous amount of times that night and always told me through tears, "I can't find my sleeping spot..."  The next morning you were still babying it, and when you swung into daddy on accident and screamed bloody murder, I finally decided to take you to Urgent Care.  Sure enough--buckle fracture in your wrist.  They put a splint on for the weekend and you got a cast the next week. You had to wear it for three weeks (in the middle of summer!), but thankfully they were able to give you a water proof one.  You loved letting all of your people sign it :)

I know I say it every year, but you absolutely love music.  This is another area where your memory just amazes me.  You can hear a song one or two times and know most of the words.  You sing along with the radio in the car and can recognize daddy's "boat songs" anytime you hear one while we're out and about.  You have so many favorites right now, but to name a few:  Spill the Wine, Deep Cries Out, Fix My Eyes, Louisiana Saturday Night, God is on the Move, and Get Back up Again (really, anything by TobyMac).  You still also love to dance and will boogie woogie anytime you hear a good beat!

Every night at bed time, you each get to pick a song for us to sing.  You alternate between Take Me Out to the Ball game and Louisiana Tech's Alma Mater...  We were so excited to bring you to Tech this year now that you're old enough to really participate and understand.  Plus, we were so looking forward to you singing the Alma Mater with us at the game.  You held your finger high and sang every word.  It was one of our favorite moments yet!  #everloyalbe

You're still learning of course--and you are getting very impatient to go to school with Bella...  The biggest thing you learned this year I think it how to spell your name!  KAP--LAN  We're still working on learning how to write it, but you have learned how to write several letters (E, L, I, H, O, and a few more).  You love to color and draw; you'll sit at the bar for hours with your box of crayons and a stack of paper drawing everything you can think of. Playing ball is still probably your favorite thing ever.  You have a good little arm and pretty amazing aim for a tiny human.  You're so looking forward to playing t-ball in the spring!  

You are super friendly and make friends easily.  You've started getting scared of a lot of things (daddy and I are fighting through that pretty fiercely), but you're not shy (sometimes moody, but not shy...) One of my favorite stories:  Aunt Pat asked you for a hug and you told her, "not yet".  So she asked for one a few minutes later and you said, "just give me some time."  Haha!  That's our new catch phrase for you...and it's so true.  Sometimes, you just need a little time, and that's perfectly ok. 

You're such a fun little ball of energy and have added such spunk to our family!  I never want to forget your grin and your giggle, your unbelievably sweet snuggles, your tender concern for other people.  You'll always be our favorite Kap ;)  

Your daddy and I will fight for you, protect you, teach you, and love you every single day of our lives.  You will always be our precious, perfect son; our second baby; our beautiful, blessed gift. 

Happy birthday, sweet boy!  I love you more than you will ever know.

xoxo, mama