Jalen's Five!

Five years ago tomorrow, our lives changed forever when we learned about the birth of a little baby boy in Roanoke, Virginia. Jalen has been such a joy in our home ever since. We love him so much. He was such a fun little baby - our chunky monkey - and he continues to be a wild, crazy kid that lights up a room when he comes crashing into it.

Seriously, who could not love this kid?

When I say chunky, I mean chunky.

He was ALWAYS hungry.

And he thoroughly enjoyed his food.

Today he could hardly wait to open all his presents.

He is easy to please because he loves everything he gets. (He was especially excited to get some cash from grandparents.)

Captain America helmet.

Ready to defend the universe.

He used his cash to buy a guitar. His daddy was so excited with his choice of an instrument over toys.

And of course, even Captain America could use a little music in his life.

We had some Chuck E. Cheese's tokens left over from a birthday party we went to a few months ago, so we saved them for Jalen's birthday. He was very excited about our dinner surprise for him.

Why do kids love this place so much? It is so not my favorite place.

And once again, I have to show my failure as a cake decorator. So here you have the inspiration...

...and here you have the reality.

But once you cover it all with action figures, who cares what the frosting looks like??

Jalen liked it. That's all that matters.

We each shared one thing we love about Jalen.
Daddy: I've never met anyone that can pretend play with toys like him.
Baylie: He always feels bad and says he's sorry when he does something wrong.
Mommy: Even though he's a rough and wild little boy, he always gives me the biggest hugs.

We all love Jalen so much and are so glad he's part of our family. I can't imagine my life without him in it.

I always think of my childrens' birthmothers on days like today and wonder if they remember. Today we heard from Jalen's birthmom through our adoption agency. We hadn't heard from her in four years. It answered my question. I would guess that no matter how much time passes, these birthdays are days of remembrance for these special women. I'm so grateful to them for sharing their children with me and letting me be a mother.