Happy 7th Birthday, Spencer!

My boy is seven years old today. SEVEN. How does that happen so fast?

Spencer is my sweetheart boy. He's so sensitive, yet so stoic. He's my peacemaker and my helper. He is full of love and compassion for people and things, but yet shows this in quiet, subtle ways:

Like when he counts the money in his piggy bank and decides he wants to give money to his siblings so that they will all be more "even".

Or when he notices that Chase and Leda are fighting over something he'll often walk over to them and offer up a toy to distract the one who is whining.

Or the other day when I heard him encouraging his siblings to pick up their dirty clothes and put them in the hamper because of our new family goal discussed in family council that we'd all pitch in a little more without being asked by Mom or Dad.

These are few of the reasons why we love our Spencer so much. Last night Aaron and I were reflective of how our lives were before we had Spencer. Bottom line is, there wasn't really much worth remembering before he joined our family. We are forever changed because he made us parents and his sweet spirit make us better people.

Some things I want to remember about Spencer at this age:

-He likes to sleep (or hang out) with his shirt off because he once saw his cousins Carter & McKay do that and he wants to be like them.

-Chase now sleeps with his shirt off because Chase wants to be more like his big brother.

-He loves school, always gets 100% on every timed math test and most of the time nails each and every spelling test. He's becoming and great reader and begs us to read with him whenever we have down time.

-Whenever I ask him how school is, it's always a one word answer: "Good" or "Fine" usually covers it. He's a man of few words.

-His 1st grade teacher, Mrs. DiBene calls Spencer a quiet leader and notices that people around him want to be with him and want to be like him.

-He loves to eat at Subway (pepperoni sandwiches), & he'll choose that place over most other places around.

-His favorite dinnertime meal is still salmon, rice and broccoli.

-Whenever he comes into the kitchen and asks what I'm making for dinner, and he determines it's something he likes, he'll say, "YES!!" and run around the house announcing what's for dinner to his siblings.

-He seriously idolizes his Dad right now. The two of them can be in tickling matches and Wii standoffs for hours and hours. Most nights I have to gently remind Aaron that it's time for his "little buddy" to get to bed and these two playmates have to say goodnight until next time. I love seeing this bond. There really is no one else Spencer would rather be with.

-He loves to play outside in the front yard on our steps with Lego's with all his neighbor friends: Jose, Jordan, Noah, Kyle, Johny, Luke.

-He says such sweet prayers and still says, "Bless our blessings" which is something he's said since he was two.

-He refers to his siblings as "the kids" as if he's not one of them.

-Even though he's getting bigger, he'll still hold my hand when we cross the street...and if I squeeze his hand 3x, he'll do it back. It's our code for "I love you."

I could keep going, clearly I'm in love with my kid and we're so grateful he's a part of our family. We're so blessed.

Happy Birthday Spencer!!

Spencer's birthday breakfast this morning, complete with sausage in the shape of a "7"