He's had a birthday!

Better late than never, we finally celebrated this boy's birthday this week!  Happy Birthday Russell!  The last four years have been a JOY as your mother.  I love your desire to choose the right, even though it is hard sometimes and even if it doesn't seem like anyone else is doing it.  I love that you gut laugh at pigs singing "la la la" and "Wacky" things on a "Wednesday" and Turkeys  putting socks on their hands and then jumping into swimming pools fully dressed...I love that you get that there's lots of joy to be found in the goofy parts of life...  I love your sincere concern for others...like when you NEVER miss spotting someone with a cigarette in their mouth and you ALWAYS vocalize (once directly to the person...other times to me but loud enough that it is surely heard)  that you don't want them to smoke because you don't want them to turn into a donkey  (we were spending quite a bit of time with Pinocchio for a while there...lots of great morals but lots and lots of questions and it has become REAL apparent to me that my answers haven't quite connected...a little too abstract, but hey, he's sure to never smoke!  Mission accomplished.  :) )  I love how particular you are about things like making sure your Sunday shirt is tucked in before heading up to the front of the chapel to sing me a Mother's day song...and how you are particular about your projects like how we build a castle and when we've made it just the way you want it Rylee comes along and knocks it over...I love that you're learning to say things like, "that's okay 'cause we can build it again"...and then allow Rylee to help build it the next time even though I know it is really, really hard for you because you are really, really, REALLY particular.  I love how you remember EVERYTHING... how you always ask if the milk is "curdled" before drinking it, how you're great at learning lessons the first time through.  WE love you, Russell, because you're so, soooooo Russell and that makes YOU SO, SO SUPER SPECIAL!

Russell loved helping with the decorations....and I was totally diggin' making this cake...it was CAKE!