Duke's Birthday

Man, five years. If you want to hop into the left line on the highway of life, have a baby. You immediately enter warp-speed. 

Actually, we're probably all already in the left lane, but a baby is a speedometer and suddenly I have a way to measure how fast it all goes. Whatever it is, everything they say about the long days and the short years is true. I don't know where five years went, but they sure have been good. 

Duke started school last week which feels like a solid step into childhood, and away from the baby years. Putting a backpack on his tiny body, handing him the lunch I packed - it just hit me - he's not a baby anymore obviously, but he's also not a toddler. He's a kid and he's about to really become his own person. We're stepping into a life with outside influences for the first time. He's going to make friends, absorb their opinions, have some of his own that aren't rooted in the things that Ryan and I believe or think. Duke B is growing up. 

I have a feeling that five is going to be a big year. 

This part is mostly for me, because I need to record what feels like such a short - wonderful - blip in our long lives. It goes so fast, he changes so much. 

Duke is a sport- he's down for anything. He bombs around picking up boats and cars and motorcycles with Ryan, and then he spends the next week at the shop working on them, giving tours of the work they did. Future Jenn - I am begging you to remember the 1979 Class A parked at the shop right now and how Duke showed you every feature, like he was selling it himself. He tells us he loves us "a fousand and a billion and a googolplex and eight fousand" constantly. He always wants to know if that's the biggest number ever. He gave me the "nice mom award" a few days ago. He's generous and thoughtful. Especially if he loves something, he wants you to try it because he knows you'll love it too. He's a hugger. He likes to add numbers and tell you what "one pluses two" equals. He likes minecraft videos on youtube. When he wakes up, he yells "MOMMM! Come get me!" and then giggles while he hides under the covers when I walk in the room. Duke thinks most dogs are cute. He loves playing with legos and right now, he's very into superheroes. He likes listening to Queen and reading books in the backseat of my car while we're driving. 

So that's Duke according to me. Now for Duke according to him - 

Duke B., September 11, 2021

1.) What is your name? Duke Benjamin. 

2.) How old are you? Five.

3.) What’s your favorite thing to do? Play games.

4.) What’s your favorite food? Chicken Nuggets. 

5.) What’s your favorite drink? Juice.

6.) What’s your favorite color? Orange. 

7.) What’s your favorite animal? Moose.

8.) What’s your favorite thing to watch on TV? Minecraft. 

9.) What is your favorite toy? RC stuff.

10.) Who is your best friend? Robert. 

11.) What makes you very happy? Playing games.

12.) What makes you very sad? Hurting myself. 

Duke's 3rd Birthday | 4th Birthday

Happy happy happy birthday to my sweet Duke. I love you forever. 

You'll always be my baby.