My Baby Turns Seven!

Dear Lewie,

Happy birthday, Lewie.  Today you turn seven!!  I'm still struggling with the number; little kids are 4, 5, and 6.  Seven seems to be an age all on its own.

Mine Craft Swords at his Birthday Party

Indeed, you are growing up right before my eyes.  Only a few years ago, you watched Thomas the Train faithfully and played for hours and hours with your train table and TrackMaster train set.  Now, "big kid" influence from your older cousins and friends has made an appearance, and you are into games like Minecraft, LEGO Marvel, and Disney Infinity.

This year, surprisingly, has still been a year of many firsts.  At Surreybrook, you made friends with your classmates (which wasn't so important before), and you were given "homework" for your very first time.  You started taking private roller skating lessons and swim lessons, and as a result, you are now both a confident skater and swimmer.  (You recently learned how to do front and back flips in the water all by yourself.)

You are still quite the talker, but instead of telling us about trains and their different parts, your conversations are more about zombies, creepers, skeletons, and all the other Minecraft characters.  You tell me that you want to become a YouTuber, and your stage name with be Enchanted Diamond Lewie.  Half the time I don't know whether I should belt out in laughter or whether I should take this endeavor very, very seriously.

When you are thinking about LEGO Marvel, you can spend hours talking about Iron Man, the Hulk, and the Hulk Buster.  Admittedly, I grew up as an only child with my mom, so my childhood revolved around Barbies and My Little Ponies.  This new world of diamond swords and iron suits has been a learning lesson for me, and I'm still unsure of how to answer questions like, "If you had a sword, Mommy, what would it be made out of?"  "Um, Lewie, can my sword be made out of hearts?" I ask.

Lewie, underneath this talk of TNT and superpowers, still exists this amazingly creative and sweet little kid.  You spend hours making up unique stories in your head--sometimes you talk about them, and sometimes we can see your brain moving a mile a minute as you pace the room in a trance making up sound effects as you move from one area of the room to the other.   (You can build a castle in Minecraft like no other.)

At other times, we have deep conversations with you.  You miss Uncle Terry tremendously and often ask about him being in Heaven.  In fact, one morning you woke up and told me that you had a dream about being in "God's Place" and hugging Uncle Terry.   You have become very close to Gramy (my mom) that lives next door.  If we dare go anywhere without her, you're always the first to ask why she can't come.  Next year, you insist that she come with us to Tampa, Florida.  In fact, you said the trip just wasn't that fun without having her with us.

When it's time to visit Ninny and Papa's house, you immediately go to Papa (my father-in-law) to see if he'll play a video game of some sort with you.  You have developed quite the connection to Papa, and Papa has equally developed a very special place in his heart for you too.  (While your cousins are all playing their own games and begging you to join them, you simply choose being with Papa instead.)  Maybe it's because he makes you feel special; maybe it's because he's ill, and you feel badly for him; or maybe it's because you just have this mysterious, unexplainable connection--after all, if you look at a picture of Papa when he was seven, and we look at a picture of you, Lewie, the resemblance is eerily striking!

Lewie, one thing that hasn't changed about you is your incredibly kind, sensitive, and nostalgic nature.   You love your home, your family, and everything around you.  You never want to part with your toys, and you don't want to part with the rock you found two summers ago either.  One night you said to me in tears, "Mommy I don't want to be seven.  I don't  want to grow up.  I just want to live here with you, Daddy, Grammy, and Tigey (your Tiger stuffed animal) forever."    How do I respond to that?  The reality is that I don't want to see you grow up either...

Lewie, in honor of your seventh birthday, I decided to do a little interview while we were on a road trip with Daddy.  You loved being interviewed; you barely even finished answering each question before you'd ask, "Mommy, do you have another question for me?"  The answers to your questions were quite telling; they definitely showed the transition you've been making all this year (and the transition that we're still trying to wrap our heads around.  It's not easy watching you grow up.)

Favorite Food:  Macaroni and Cheese
Favorite Number:  Nine Million
Favorite Cartoon:  The Avengers
Favorite Toy:  Wii U
Favorite Activity:  Playing LEGO Marvel with my dad
Favorite Colors:  Orange and Pink
Favorite Season:  Summer
Favorite Car:  Nissan Leaf (my car)
Favorite Place:  The Train Museum
Favorite Vacation:  Aunt ReRe's and Uncle Terry's House
Favorite Fruit:  Strawberries
Favorite Park:  The Rec Center in Beacon Falls with the Secret Playground
Goals:  To make a camper van that runs on solar and electricity.  To make my own train that runs from Connecticut to Tampa, FL.  (I will charge each passenger $10.)

Finally, here are some questions Daddy asked:
Q:  What do you think about Girls?
A:  "They're pretty."

Q:  Do you want to get married some day?
A:  "No, because I don't like getting married."

Lewie, although it pains me to watch you get older, just know that I couldn't be more proud of you.  Once upon a time, my mom shared with me that she loved every age as she watched me grow up, and now, I believe that too.  In many ways, you have become Mommy's buddy.  I love talking to you, jumping on the trampoline with you, playing board games, and even helping you with homework (even though it's not your favorite thing to do).   I love the bond we've developed, and I know it will only get stronger through the years.  Right now, even when you're visiting friends, I cherish that you still look to play with Mommy and Daddy first.  Just know, that if I ever have a choice to spend time with anyone in the whole world, my first choice will always be you.

I love you forever and ever and always.

Mommy