Happy Birthday, Ethan!

2 years old.  Such a short time for so much change.  Ethan, you are my little man in so many ways.  You are already displaying qualities that men strive for, which is so encouraging.

• You are the first to lend a helping hand whenever anyone needs it.  Around the house, if I mention even to myself that I need to grab something in the other room, I turn around and you are running toward me holding it out with a big smile.  
• You have a great desire to obey that shines through on most days.  When you don't want to do something but know that you should, you get this little look in your eye and I can almost hear the battle being waged.  Thankfully by some grace of God in the lives of kids that I don't fully understand, you will usually make the good choice and obey.  
• You are a super friendly boy who says "hi" to strangers everywhere we go.  I used to think that I was a friendly person, but you've already stretched me outside of my comfort zone to new levels of openness to people... in Walmart, at the zoo, out at restaurants... you're almost always the first to greet others.  
• You have energy that runs until you drop.  When you start getting keyed up, you giggle and literally begin bouncing off the walls.  It only takes the mention of something silly or challenging (or scary to me!) and you are off to the next adventure.  Your cousin Jase simply asked if you were going to jump off the top of the slide on Papa Joe's deck into the pool, and off you jumped.
• You have a keen sense of protection and love for your family.  Elissa & McKinley are the top recipients of those affections most days.  Unfortunately, they also fall prey to the other extreme of emotions that you can dish out.  At the end of the day, though, you make sure you get a hug & kiss from both before you're content to lie down in bed.  What a sweetheart.

I love you, buddy.  I pray daily that God gives me the ability to be the best mommy you could have.  I pray for strength to let you take risks that scare me.  I pray that I learn more and more about what makes you tick so that I can train and guide your heart better and better to love Jesus and other people.  Thank you for the joy you've brought me this past year.  I'm so excited to jump into another one with you!  Love, Mommy