To my precious Turner Cole,

What a wonderful year we had with you as a 4 year old! It truly has been amazing to see you grow so quickly this past year and go from being our little boy to our “big kid” now. You started helping me with chores around the house like folding towels (your favorite!) and putting away clothes and toys. I am so impressed with you and how much you helped me out this year!

Daddy and I tried to take you to a lot of fun places this year. We went to the Dallas Zoo with Granny and Julie, we bought annual passes to the new Crayola Experience, we saw the Avengers Live show and Elf the Musical, went to various water parks and pools, and we saw several movies at the theater. But you also had a few really fun trips as well! When I had surgery in June, you were such a brave boy and spent 11 whole days away from mommy and daddy in Mississippi with Papa and Lulu, Granny, and your aunts and uncles. You did so great on that trip! Daddy and I couldn’t have been more proud of you! We missed you so much, but you had a BLAST in Mississippi! Later that summer, you spent another week in Mississippi before Daddy and I came to join you. Once we got there, we took you and Katie to Atlanta to see a Braves game. You and Katie even got to run the bases after the game and watch a movie on the big screen. We stayed at Julie and Ed’s house and had a fun trip.

Our most exciting trip with you this past year, though, had to be when we surprised you with a Disney Cruise! Daddy and I tricked you into thinking that we were just going out to run errands, but we really drove you to the airport and we flew to Orlando for the cruise to the Bahamas. When we got there, you received a special phone call from Mickey and Minnie Mouse to let you know where we were going. You were so excited and gave us the biggest hugs ever! Julie and Ed joined us for that trip, too, and we had so much fun. You were just barely tall enough to ride the Aqua Duck slide (we had to coach you on how to stand up super straight so that you would be tall enough!) I’m so glad that you were, because you loved that slide! You also enjoyed playing in the kids club and pretty much everything about the cruise. We can’t wait to take you back one day.

It’s been so exciting to watch you learn new things this year. You’ve mastered writing your whole name, and you can even say a lot of words in Spanish. (You also speak fluent “Papanese” which is a language that only you and Papa can understand). You’re taking a computer class at school and know how to type words on our computer. You’re also learning sight words at school and can point them out to me when we read bedtime stories. You’re just growing so quickly and learning so much that sometimes I sit and wonder what you’re going to be when you grow up. I try to tell you every single night as you are falling asleep just how proud I am of you, how much I love you, and just how special and important you are. Please don’t ever forget that, sweet Turner. You can be whatever you want to be, and I’ll be your biggest cheerleader along the way.

This past year was definitely the year of Star Wars and Superheroes, especially Batman! You absolutely love playing with toys and you can tell us every single feature about every single toy that you own. Even if I find a tiny piece of a toy around the house, you can tell me exactly what toy it belongs to. You like to put the “bad guys” in jail, and usually I am the one who has to play the role of the bad guy.  You also absolutely love playing with Legos. I wonder if you’ll grow up to be an engineer because you are so exact with your Lego creations. You count the dots on each side to make sure everything is perfectly symmetrical. I’m continually amazed at your huge imagination and seeing your creativity.

One of these days we are going to convince you to try new foods, but for now, you’re still a super picky eater. I do believe that you would eat chicken nuggets every single day if we let you! You did branch out a little bit this year and added corn and carrots to the list of healthy foods that you’ll “kinda-sorta-sometimes” eat, so at least that’s a step in the right direction!

This past year with you was a joy, Turner. You’re learning about Jesus and you tell me all the time that you love me a lot, but you love Jesus and God the most! I pray that you will continuously deepen your love for the Lord as your grow.

You definitely had your share of 4 year old “moments” that tested our patience and sanity (especially at bedtime and when we needed you to buckle into your car seat), but we honestly couldn’t ask for a better kid than you. Your heart is so tender and you are full of love. Thank you for giving me my big-boy hugs every day. Our deal is that I’ll get one every day forever, so I’m holding you to that deal for as long as I can. I am so excited to see what the next year holds for you, and I am so thankful that God blessed me with such a precious child as you.

I love you times twenty million infinities.

Love,

Mommy

PS – I asked you what you want to be when you grow up and you said confidently: “A Ninja!” Then you added, “Or a policeman, or a baseball player, or an army man.”

Another PS – I love that you mispronounce certain words. It’s so cute that I just don’t have the heart to correct you. My favorite is when you say “com-stra-bull” instead of “comfortable.”