Eight. Great.

This year, while on vacation, Rob and I watched the children running on the beach and jumping in and out of the waves.

Rob looked at Fiver and said, "Remember how hard it all used to be?" And I knew exactly what he meant.

It was hard, and sometimes it still is hard, but I feel like we've turned a corner with Fiver. He has grown so much this year, and I don't know if it's our perspective or Fiver himself or a combination of the two, but something has changed. A lot.

It sounds corny to say it, but I want to repeat that line from Pinocchio: "He's a REAL boy!"

In many ways I feel like we are just getting to know the real Fiver now. We were so involved, for so long, with trying to fix or alleviate his developmental delays that we sort of missed the forest for the trees.

Well, I can see it now, and I am amazed. He's a pretty awesome kid.

Happy birthday to you, my love. I can't wait to see where life takes you this year.