My Baby

This little munchkin will be 5 in less than a week.  Today he "graduated" from preschool and I finally accepted that my baby isn't a baby anymore.  He is 50lbs.  It's hard to carry him in from the car if he falls asleep. Some things that I never want to forget about this kid:
1. He hides in a corner when someone hurts his feelings or gets in trouble.  And he cries big huge tears.  He is the kind of kid that if you raise your voice to him, he bawls.  He is sensitive.  He is very easy to discipline that way.
2. He loves animals.  It doesn't matter if its stuffed, plastic, or a breathing animal, he wants to love it.  He is the only child of mine that sleeps with critters in his bed.  I bought him a PillowPet a month ago and he loves it. 
3. He loves his Mama.  Always quick to give me a hug or kiss, he is very affectionate with me.  And all of his 50lbs likes to snuggle up on my lap at church.  I love it.  Who can resist those baby blues staring straight into you?!
4. He hugs everyone.  I mean everyone.  If he doesn't know you, he'll hug you.  If you are standing, he will love on you if you stop moving long enough for him to wrap his fat little arms around your knees.  Just the other day while we were shopping, he came up to me and whispered that there was some people he wanted me to meet.  He crept up behind these two teenagers that were shopping.  He exclaimed, "Mom, these ladies.  You need to meet these ladies."  Well I wasn't about to walk up to perfect strangers and introduce myself.  But later, by the changing rooms, one of the girls was standing there and Evan couldn't resist going up to her and giving her a great big hug.  That girl lit up like a Christmas tree.  I mean who wouldn't?  Look at that face!  I told her that he loves to give hugs to random people and I was sorry.  She thought it was so cute.  This kid has a gift, pure and simple.  He knows what people need and is more than willing to give it to them in a form of physical affection.  It melts my heart that I am so blessed to be his mother. 
5. He is a rocker.  He loves ACDC, VanHalen, Queen, etc.  He is the ultimate headbanger and is constantly jammin out in the car when his tunes come on.  He's quite the fan of The Brew station.  He loves it loud and does the air guitar almost as good as the air drums.  He loves his hair long, so I see a hair band in his future.
6. His speech is precious.  He is very much like his mom in the fact that he didn't really speak until he was three.  He can't really pronounce his s, y, f, th.  And he uses phrases like "cuz about" or "guess what" about 300 times a day.  It's adorable.  His cheeks bounce when he talks still.  You just want to squeeze them!
7. He is the only one of my kids that has my lips.  Those suckers are big!  I was looking at pics of myself as a kid and although I looked the most like Anderson as far as mannerisms and my gawky self, Evan and I have those big lips.  I thank my father for those and it is not mere coincidence that his name sake looks so much like him.
8. Evan could be a vegetarian.  His favorite foods are raw broccoli, spinach, and carrots.  He dislikes normal kid food in favor of vegetables and fruits.  He is forever asking if something is "wheat free"  and saying "we is wheat free."  He doesn't like cheese or chicken nuggets but will do anything for a piece of dark chocolate. 
9. He's a dancer.  Whenever there is music on, he will dance.  He loves it.  Wonder where he got that from? ;)
10. Evan loves Jesus.  Jesus is very real to him.  He talks to him all the time.  He sings songs about him.  He begs to say the prayer everyday.  He gets upset that it's not his turn to pray every single time.  This kid is so close to the spirit and can't wait to be kind and compassionate to others.  He loves to praise with song as well.  He tells others to be more like Jesus.  It warms my heart that I get to raise this child.
 So I cried big tears today knowing that my baby is growing up.  He doesn't suck his thumb anymore.  He doesn't drag his blanket around or want to sleep in my bed.  He still wants me to suck out his bad dreams with kisses on his forehead, but he's definitely becoming more independent.  He can buckle his seat belt now and can put on most of his clothes by himself.  Even today, he spilled chocolate milk  in the fridge and without telling me, cleaned it up all by himself.  The reason he spilled it, is he was putting away the yogurt that I had bought at Costco.  He was just trying to be helpful and this is why I love him.  He does little things like this all the time.  He just knows how to give so freely without any thought of himself.  I am so very blessed that Evan is my son.