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I can still vividly recall coming home from the hospital, not even 8 hours after you were born. Your dad was so excited to finally be a father -- as we got out of the car, he yelled to the neighborhood: "Who wants to see a beautiful baby boy?"

I remember holding you in my arms for hours... wanting time to stop. Or at least, to slow down.

I remember your first bath. Your first smile. Your first burp (though I could never burp you).

I remember the crying - oh, there was lots of crying. But I also remember that Big Man and I were the only ones who could console you. At the time, it seemed like a bit of a burden. I know now it was a blessing.

There have been lots of starts and stops along the way. But Bee - you are so amazing! I am so proud of you, and I am so proud to be your Mom.

I can't believe you're 5 years old. I can't believe 5 years have passed just like that.

I love you, Bee. I love you, I love you, I love you. We all love you so.

Happy Birthday from your family,
 Mom, Dad & Lee

Bee has gotten really into games lately. He plays them at a lot of his therapies, and has finally mastered the art of turn-taking, so he's now eager to play them at home.

His favorite game is Memory. Now, this takes me back and makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside, because my sis and I used to play this game religiously. I mean, we played this well past the recommended age, well into our teens and early 20s. So when Bee asked me to play Memory with him, I happy as a clam.

I'd heard rumblings from his tutors that he was really good at it. I thought they meant the turn-taking.

So we picked out 12 pairs. Turned them face-down. Mixed 'em up. Arranged them in rows of four. "Who's first?" I asked. "Bee goes first", he replied. Okay, then.

He turned to over. "No match", he said.

My turn. No match.

This went on for 2 more turns. Then he got a match.

Then another. And another.

I had no idea what card was where.

Then he got another. I was starting to sweat.

I hesitated on my second pick - he found it for me. "Good job, Mommy!" he said.

Can you be condescending at almost 5 years old?

I did manage to find 3 matches of my own. He doubled my score.

"Play again?" he asked.

"Sure thing, kiddo".

Same score. The kid is good.

Even Lee got into it - saying "No match"! Only to me though. He knew who the pro was.

After the game, Bee put all the cards back in the box and put it away. He then asked me to read him a book.

Lee sat in my lap; Bee sat across from us. Bee read along with the book; of course, he has it memorized too.

Most parents probably take this stuff for granted. For me, playing a game with my son - start to finish - is definitely blog-worthy.

Now, I gotta get back to practicing...

:)

Last year, we decided Bee needed to learn how to swim. So I found one of those in-home swimming instructors and signed him up for lessons. It was okay - Bee usually loves water, but was very hesitant to get in with the instructor. He sometimes has trouble with new people, though. We were diligent about practicing in between appointments - blowing bubbles in the bathtub, dunking him under water in the pool, etc. He enjoyed himself, but really made no progress all summer. I was kind of disappointed - I really wanted him to have something that he liked doing, because his days were already filled with things he had to do. The summer ended; the weather got colder; we figured we'd try it again next year.

Fast forward: next year becomes this year. My parents had sold their house (sob), so we needed to find a place that offered swim lessons. I kept hearing how good Debbie Meyer's program was, so we called for some info and went down to sign up. You prepay for 12 15-minute sessions. 15 minutes? That's it? Seems short to me. I was assured that he would learn a lot and so we went ahead. We chose Isaac as our instructor - apparently, he's great with kids with special needs. Then we waited two weeks for the lessons to start.

Big Man decided this was going to be his thing with Bee. We started prepping Bee for the lessons about a week before, but really - he needed no prepping. Once he heard the word "swimming", he was all over it. He practically flew out the door to go to his lesson. I was filled with typical mom-dread: would he enjoy it, would he throw a tantrum at the pool, how many times would he want to flush the toilets. Okay - maybe those aren't all typical, but they're typical for me.    :)

They were back less than an hour later. Bee was beaming, so was Big Man. "He did great", Big Man said. Bee went on and on about swimming with Isaac. It's still a popular refrain in our household. I was thrilled.

So on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Bee and his dad load up in the car and head out for lessons. I get reports on how he's doing: Bee's huge smile going and coming back speaks for itself; Big Man fills in the details. Isaac is apparently thrilled with Bee's progress. He asked Big Man if we had been swimming with Bee in between lessons (we haven't). He said Bee is doing great.

I needed to see for myself.

Lee, Bee and I loaded up in the car and met Big Man at the swim school. Then I realized I forgot the swim bag at home. Luckily, Bee already had his trunks on, but I had to high-tail it back home to get his towel. So I did, and made it just in time to see the last 5 minutes.

I cannot accurately describe to you what I saw, because my eyes filled with tears the minute I saw this beautiful child swimming half the length of the pool by himself, then looking up and giving me the biggest smile I have ever seen. He holds his breath under water. He swims under water! He dives for toys - you guessed it - under water! Folks, this was his 10th lesson. Two hours of swimming under his belt this year.

When we signed him up for swimming last year, this is what I hoped for at some point. I don't know that I actually expected it. I just wanted something for Bee to truly look forward to; something that was his and his alone. I'm glad I got what I wanted; I'm ecstatic for Bee.

I'm still tearing up. I know I'm a sap, but oh - if you could have seen him.

So now I know two things:

1. I can't wait to sign Lee up for lessons.
2. We are soooo getting a pool.

:)