Dear Sawyer,
When I was in high school, one of my classmates had a theory that every person is his/her "true" self at the age of 8. According to her, that is when you have fully developed your personality and it is before societal pressures and stigmas affect how you think you should behave. There is obviously no science behind this and just from personal observation, I know that parental guidance and peer pressure influence behavior way before kids turn 8. However, if my classmate's theory is correct and you are your "true" self at age 8, then I am very proud of you because you turn 8 today and you are one awesome 8-year-old. Happy birthday, Baby Bear!
When I think of you, the first things I think about are your sweet smile and infectious laugh. You are such a happy guy and when something cracks you up, your laugh is so full of joy and amusement that it's hard not to laugh along with you. It's especially cute when you find something so funny, you laugh and slap your knee! And like many other 8-year-old boys, you laugh extra hard at potty humor!
In addition to dirty jokes, you also still love love love to read (your current favorite series are Wings of Fire, Wimpy Kid and Dog Man), build things with Legos, Plus Plus blocks and Keva planks and play with cars and dinosaurs. You enjoy drawing and spend lots of time drawing elaborate, detailed, three-dimensional drawings of vehicles, dinosaurs and houses (fittingly, you have told me that you either want to be a paleontologist or architect when you grow up). You like to play chess and are in the chess club at school. At home, you often play chess by yourself and even record your moves. You are a friendly kid with lots of buddies at school and you like to play soccer with them during recess. I have never let you play many video games but you are really into Minecraft and could spend all day playing it at the arcade--which is why I am acquiescing and taking you and your friends to Dave & Buster's this weekend to celebrate your birthday!
You are very polite and thoughtful and your teacher always tells me what a gentleman you are. You are a curious thinker and you're always wondering about why things are the way they are and what would happen if they were different. You are grateful and appreciative and thank Daddy and me for the things we do for you. You are also the most loving son. You always tell me that you love me and hug me all of the time. You ask me to say good night to you before you fall asleep every night and still like cuddling with me. And you always tell me that I'm beautiful. I am so lucky to have you and I love you so very much!
Love,
Mom
