This morning I woke you up with an edited Happy Birthday Song: “Happy Birthday, my little j-bird. Happy
birthday, little j-bird.” Your eyes opened and through a sleepy smile you said, “You remembered it’s my
birthday!” “Of course,” I smiled back, “I will never forget your birthday.”
At 9:01am, 5 years ago today, you came into my world and it has never been the same. I try to make mental
notes of things to write down but then you do something else that’s amazing and then another and another and
soon I’m overwhelmed by the sheer Jadenness of you. Here’s a small list of things you’ve done this past year:
Look at books and make up stories for the pictures ● Help your brother put his shoes on ● Hold your brother’s
hand when he’s walking up stairs ● Set the table and bring your dishes to the sink ● Make your bed ● Dance,
Sing, and act ● Make up songs ● Order daddy to kiss me ● Practice sign language with your brother ●
Let your brother pick a movie ● Pick out books at the library for Jonas ● Cook and bake ● Learn to ride a bike ●
Giving thumbs-ups away like they were pennies ● Learning the fine art of the Knock Knock Joke ● Write your
name without asking how it’s spelled ● Writing the names of your family members ● Drawing pictures of actual
things (Aliens being a favorite subject) ● Decided you will learn Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu and Karate (in that order)
●Grow up to be a Space Doctor ● Play play play play play ● Make me laugh ● Apologize for making me upset
(unprompted) ● Snuggle ● Pout ● Growl ● Punch the chair or your leg ● Tell your brother not to hit people ●
Hug and kiss him ● Still call him your buddy ● Made new friends ● Talk things through ● Create secret missions
for us ● Play on the computer ● Melt your grandparents and great-grandparents’ hearts ● Make me proud