happy birthday oliver jack...

 

this boy turns 4 years old tomorrow. 

i've spent the day reflecting on the boy he is becoming and all the many, many reasons that i am sad to see this year go.  but mostly i am just so happy to have him in my life.  he plays hard to get and tries to be so tough but more than any of my children he loves to hear me tell him how proud i am of him and how brave, courageous, smart, and kind he is. 
as i tuck him in at night i often go through the list of my most favorite attributes and every time i finish he smiles so big and says, "do it again, mommy."  and i do.  mostly because he lets me kiss his cheeks as long as i am telling him how great he is in the meantime :)
no one is surprised by his antics; he is pretty renowned for his exuberant charm.  in fact, one picture that jacob took shortly before the one i used here in the blog is one where oliver jack dropped his pants.  he will stop just short of nothing to make someone laugh.  this is the side of jack that most people see. 
but the oliver jack that i have watched develop over the last year has been so tender and sweet that i feel a little like i am exposing a lot more than he did when he dropped his pants when i even mention it.  he guards his sweet side a little more but its there.    his feelings are hurt easily and he loves his brother and sisters so much. 
i have a twinge of sadness each time he says, "calvary says he wants to play with me so can you tie my shoes so i can go play?"  he is always waiting for the green light with calvary.  i love watching how they have grown so close over the past few months.  calvary went from hardly being able to be in the same room with oliver jack to relying on him as his primary playmate.  part of this i believe is because oliver jack has taught calvary how to play.  everything that is difficult for calvary is completely natural for oliver jack. 
harper is his greatest accomplice.  he is willing to do everything that harper always thinks will be super funny but knows that she shouldn't do.  oliver jack is harper without reservation.  harper cares a little more about doing what is "right" where oliver jack cares a little more about making people laugh.  if the number of people who will laugh outnumbers the people who will be mad it is without question that the deed will be done.  and he knows he can always count on harper to laugh.  it is no wonder that he cries if she is not tucked in bed beside him at night.  he loves her companionship.  most nights he doesn't say a word.  he just quietly lays in his bed beside hers while she reads.  eventually he drifts off to sleep.  other nights, the two of them conspire together to torture calvary in the neighboring room.  somehow, harper is always just over the edge of her bed and under the sheets when kyle and i arrive at their doorway leaving oliver jack with symbolically red hands in the middle of the room. i am scared to think of what antics they will come up with in the future and slightly scared to think of what all has already happened without my knowledge but beyond that i am just blissfully in love with how much they enjoy each other's friendship.
finley is his greatest fan.  she loves him.  she goes to sleep saying that she is "harper's baby" but wakes up asking for  her "jackie".  he treats her like she is made of glass and for the most part spoils her far more than any of the rest of us could ever dream.  i say "for the most part" because lately he has taken to pushing her buttons a little more.  i love watching him love her because i know that when he, one day far from now, has a wife he will treat her with precious chivalry. 
in all these ways he reminds me of my father.  i feel like i have been given such a precious gift in knowing that my son is so much like my father, whom i admire so greatly.  there is not much that could make me prouder. 
oh, oliver jack...ever since the moment you were placed on my chest only to immediately pee in my face i should have known that my life with you would be exhilarating...but for some reason i am always surprised by you...
but i am never surprised by how much i love you...i love you.