Isaac Douglas: 6 Years Old

I can't believe I just wrote that title. Can my little guy already be 6 years old? It can't be. I was holding him in the delivery room just the other day as I looked at Gabe and said, "we have a son".

I had a hard time when Isaac turned 4. At that time it seemed that he was officially leaving the baby stage and entering big boy stage. Now I look back at a pic from his fourth birthday and think how much he looks like a baby then. I am having similar "growing pains" with this birthday as well. It just doesn't seem like he should be six already. But alas, it is here and we will celebrate it and cherish each moment.

So on to the celebrating...... Isaac is 6!!!! He is such a wonderful little boy.... full of life, curiosity, energy, imagination. Isaac has accomplished some big things this past year. Like learning to ride his bike without training wheels, so well that he is now riding trails with his Papa and loving it! That was a big hurdle for him. Isaac tends to like to be able to do things just right the first time. So learning new things is challenging to him when he can't do it perfect at first. He absolutely refused to ride his bike for awhile. Eventually he got back on and kept at it until he could ride with ease. That was a proud parent moment. To see my son work past his frustration and accomplish something so significant to him.

Isaac blows me away with how well he does at school. He wouldn't admit it to you, but he is awesome at math and reading and still is completely fascinated with science. He has also been doing really well with scripture memory through his Sparks program at church. I admire his ability to memorize and remember things.

Isaac is such a sweet big brother. Even though he and Julia get into little tiffs here and there, he is still very protective of her and loving towards her. When we are out in public, he is the first one to grab her hand in the parking lot or place his arm across her as protection when a car drives by. A few days ago we were at Bradzoil and a lady came up to talk to us. She was commenting on how beautiful the kids were. Julia got shy and instinctively hid her face in Isaac's chest. He wrapped his arms around her and comforted her. Melts my heart. He is so sweet. Sometimes that protectiveness comes off as bossiness and is received poorly by Julia, but most often he has good intentions. He adores Caleb as well. Always has and his affection towards Caleb deepens every day. It bothers him when Caleb cries and he is usually the first to console Caleb. Sweet big brother!

And talking about adoration and affection.... Isaac is Gabe's little shadow. He loves his Papa so much and only wants to be with him. Even if he can just play near his Papa while Gabe works on something, Isaac is happy. When I see Isaac following Gabe around I am reminded of how much of a huge blessing it is that Isaac has a father like Gabe... loving, compassionate, kind, sincere, hard working, fun, patient. I could go on and on. I pray that Isaac will grow up to be a man like his father.

We plan to celebrate Isaac's birthday today with our traditional birthday breakfast muffins, a day off from school so we can spend it at Inflatable Wonderland, and dinner out at Rain Forest Cafe. Then on the 23rd we will celebrate with his friends at his LEGO party. So check back in, I will have birthday pictures to post soon. But for now here are some pictures from birth to the present. Oh how he has grown!

Few days old

6 Months old

One Year Old

Two Years Old

Three Years Old

Four Years Old

Five Years Old

Present