Cole is 10!

Cole - Can you believe it? You are TEN years old! DOUBLE DIGITS!! How on earth did the last decade pass by so quickly? I remember the day you were born like it was just yesterday. You were so tiny - our one and only newborn.

Ready to head home from the hospital

How the years have flown by! You are no longer that tiny peanut but a big boy, full of energy and high on opinions. Your favorite place in our house is "Mom's room". You've basically moved in and kicked me out. It's your little sanctuary away from your loud siblings. You can often be found in "Mom's room" with a pen and notebook in hand. You are always doodling, so much so that you can easily fill up an entire notebook with your scratches.

You love your little retreat in "Mom's room" ever since we upgraded our old school TV to a new Fire TV. Now you have the power of YouTube at the tip of your fingers. Your top YouTubers are 'Will Power' and 'Kid City' - they are always playing fun Xbox games (most often WWE!) and saying silly things. You just can not get enough of your favorite YouTubers.

You love WWE! It's your favorite thing to watch on Youtube and to play on the Xbox. You know all the wrestlers by name. John Cena and AJ Styles are two of your top picks. You even have their toy figurines so you can have your very own wrestling match in the ring where you decide who wins.

Every night, you ask Pa if it's time for a party. A party with Pa is your favorite nighttime activity and typically involves you and Pa hiding away in "Mom's Room" watching your favorite flicks. You love that quiet time with Pa to wind down before bed.

Every Saturday, you shyly ask Mom, "What can I do?" While you rarely come out and ask, I always know what you want...a sleep over at Nana Judy's. It's your favorite weekend activity. Saturday night just wouldn't be right if you weren't at Nana's. You have the best time with Nana and Popi - visiting Great Nana and Great Popi, eating at your favorite restaurants and doing your favorite activities. You love your weekend getaways.

You are the most empathetic little guy. If you see anyone who's sad, you just can not help getting upset yourself. When you and your baby sis had an appointment at the doctor's office, you asked to stand outside the door while she got her vaccines. You just couldn't bare to see her upset.

You are a great brother. You will do anything to make your siblings happy, even giving up your toy or turning the TV to one of their favorite shows. If they are happy, then you are happy.

The theme of your birthday this year was WWE - of course!! I bought the perfect little wrestling ring to sit on top of your cake. It was hard for you to agree not to play with it until after the party. You wanted to get your hands on the new set ASAP.  Many days later, when I started to take down the photos of the wrestlers I had hung on the walls for your big day, you quickly asked where the posters went. I guess you had assumed they'd be up all year!

You had a fabulous party with family - playing Hot Potato, hitting around balloons and opening presents. It was a day all about you! And you loved the attention!

One of the highlights of the day was when you opened your long awaited new Avengers Xbox game you got from Nana Judy and Popi Dave. You could not wait to start playing it. You didn't even want to open the rest of your gifts you were so excited! It didn't take you long to conquer the first level. It always amazes me how quickly you can master a new Xbox game.

What a fabulous time we had celebrating YOU! Our sweet Cole. You are such a kind-hearted, yet feisty little man. You make us laugh with the silly things you say, like "A son's gotta do, what a son's gotta do." or "Cole's out." with a salute when you leave the room.  You are such a comedian!

You are our goofy, fun-loving, always-on-the-move boy. We can not wait to see what the next year brings. Happy birthday, Cole! We love you!