Ten years of Max: a love note

Dear Max,

This week you'll be 10 years old, and it is hard to wrap my head around that. In some ways, I can vividly recall your birth and first year. And in some ways, they seem like a lifetime ago.

Your progress this past year has been especially wondrous. I get ecstatic when you do something new, because it opens up new horizons for you. Thing is, you have never stopped amazing me and your dad, and inspiring people around you. 

This is the first year you...

...started spelling out words on your iPad and got the gist of telling time.
But you've always been...
...bright.

This is the first year you...
...started asking questions, like when I said we'd be going on a Disney Cruise in December and every morning afterward you'd wake up and ask "Oooh-aye?" ["Today?"]
But you've always been...
...curious.

This is the first year you...
...walked up stairs by yourself.
But you've always been...
...determined to move your body, however you could.

This is the first year you...
...got into cooking; making scrambled eggs is your fave, with your dad standing guard.
But you've always...
...loved to eat. Oh, what a chubalicious baby you were. Confession: I used to nibble on your arms and legs. I did.

This is the first year you...
...liked purple.
But you always...
HA! JOKE! You've been purple-centric for more than three years now, and you're not showing any signs of letting up.

This is the first year you...
...got markedly better at grasping things, even with that right "helper" hand. And wow, can you point!
But you've always...
...tried so, so hard to manipulate your hands and fingers.

This is the first year you...

...were toilet trained! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!

But you've always been...

...a champion pooper. In the months after you were born, one of the ways your dad always made me smile was with a song called "Max makes big dooooooodies!" (Be grateful YouTube wasn't around back then.)

This is the first year you...
...and Sabrina really started playing together.
But you've always...
...adored her.

This is the first year you...
...started looking like a big kid—a very handsome big kid.
But you've always been...
...the most beautiful, smiley boy I have ever known.

Happy, happy 10th birthday, my Max. You make me proud and happy every single day.

Love,

Mommy