J2 catch-up

My sweetest J2,

Losing Papa Roger days before your birthday sent me into a tailspin. While no stranger to losing a parent, to be fair, I was really just a kid when I lost my mom ... 22 years old, in grad school, responsible for no one but myself. Papa Roger's passing was a whole new ball game for your Umma. I gave myself the grace to not only miss being the first person on the planet to kiss you and wish you a happy birthday, but also to miss your birthday party and delay your birthday letter. Please forgive me.

It is now time to play catch-up. You, my boy, are my greatest challenge. Your love for testing limits is unprecedented, at least in this household where there is a J1, the ultimate rule follower. You are independent, creative, and inventive. I absolutely love listening to the things you want to invent, particularly when you ask what would happen when you invent said things ... because I really have NO IDEA.

DAB!

You are a big boy, but you still have the cutest little kid voice. Listening to you explain what happened or how you are feeling is really the most adorable thing ever. Your mind works way faster than your little mouth and you have the vocabulary of an adult with the pronunciation of a 6-year-old. There is really nothing better, until you get frustrated because you realize that I have no idea what you are saying, but I just keep letting you talk because I like to hear the sound of your voice.

double fisting ice cream and hot dog

You recently lost your first tooth. Your little smile with the missing tooth reinforces that much to my dismay you are truly no longer my baby despite still loving to be held. No one loves me like you do, kid, and no one ever will. You are my favorite little buddy.

You hate when we talk about how naughty you are, even though you are pretty naughty. You also hate being embarrassed, which to be fair, most people do. You, however, are embarrassed by pretty much everything that has to do with you not being perfect, of which there are many many things. I have not, however, met anyone quite as cool as you ... EVER.

You love and hate your sister in equal measure. You know how to push her buttons and do so regularly, but are quick to want to apologize when you realize that fighting with your sister means I make you both play in your rooms by yourself.

J2, you are going to do great things in this world. I know this. It probably won't happen in a traditional sense or way, but you are truly brilliant and if you somehow manage to harness that brilliance for good rather than evil, there is no limit to what you can accomplish. And it will hopefully mean that you don't end up in jail or living in my basement, particularly because right now we don't even have a basement.

You are my favorite little boy and I could not love you more. Snuggles with you make everything right in the world. Listening to your perspective on just about anything almost instantly makes me happier. You are the perfect completion to this family of ours. You are both the reason I lose it and the reason I hold it together.

Happy 6 years my little buddy. Love you forever and ever.

Your Umma