Dear Cody

Six years and one month have flown by but with each day slowly creeping up on the next.

Having you first first was an adventure and a blessing. 

You dive into everything with enthusiasm. 

Everywhere we go and everything we do is more fun because you are there and you fully appreciate the experience.

If I would have known that everything you did was magnified with excitement and joy inherent in you, maybe I would have taken more pictures and videos. But maybe not; then I couldn't have enjoyed them with you.

In your short six years of life you have lived in six different homes. You adapt to each easily even though at first you were nervous to come to Oregon. You made friends quickly and soon loved it.

You came to oregon as a baby to visit:)! Who knew we would live here.

You have lost five teeth now! A couple days ago you pulled one right out. You put your tooth in your pillow pocket that night. This morning you came out crying. The tooth fairy had not come. (I think it was something about one of the fairies working all night long and another had a sick kid.) I told you the tooth fairy could come until 8:00 and it was only 7:00 so there was still time. You had breakfast and ran to check. Some coins and your Guardians book was in the pocket. Phew. It made your entire day!!!!

You are kind. You automatically like everyone you meet and never think about being unkind to someone. It is not built into your being. Please don't let friends and life experiences change that; it is a gift.

You are my mess maker. Your mind is simply constantly thinking of things you want to create and do, and not so much about the minute details of clean up. You were born that way. Really though, you are always happy to clean it up when I ask, if I give you warning so it doesn't interrupt a 'project'.

You are involved in the moment. At the science museum each activity we went to was the coolest thing you had done; you wanted to stay at it the whole time. I would finally ask to move on to the next thing, and then we could decide which one was your favorite. You were never happy about moving on because every single thing was so cool. Life is just so interesting.

You are constantly wanting to 'study' about things. You soak up facts. You are smart.

Once we studied about ants and their homes. This was drawn one year ago.

Swinging on the swings is one of your favorite things. As a baby the first time I put you in a swing you squealed with delight and laughed the entire time. You went off the two story slide of the houseboat at Lake Powell when you were two. You love a good roller coaster. You love riding bikes and scooters. 

You love playing with your dad.

You love to know what is the biggest, best and strongest of everything. You are competitive. I am trying to teach you to be gracious in competition, and you are beginning to understand its importance.

Remember to take care of your sisters. 

 They are your friends and they look up to you as their oldest sibling and big brother. Thanks for being such a good example.

Most importantly stay true to who you are.

You are a child of God.

We love you little man that's-getting-so-big!