It's not just because it's his birthday.

This week I am grateful for my Ethan. I know it may seem a little obligatory to be grateful for someone on their birthday, but truly, it's just a good opportunity to highlight the reasons why I love him. Ethan is an explosion of energy. He loves to watch movies, but he cannot sit still while he does it; he must be acting out the movie with his array of action figures while he watches. Action figures are this boy's best friend. Ethan is always surprising me with the unexpected things he says and does. He is usually sweet and helpful, but can be powerfully moody sometimes. If ever he is mad at me when it is time for bed, he throws his pillows and blankets on the floor next to his bed and refuses to use them, thinking that it is somehow punishing me. Truth be told, it kind of does bother me, so after he falls asleep I go in and put his pillow under his cute little freckly head.
Ethan has a powerful ability to love. He loves with all his might. When he was about two and a half years old we were at the grocery store and he was talking to me as I pushed him around in the cart. He said, "I love you, Mom. And I love Daddy. And I love Cameron SO BAD!" The way he said it let me know exactly how much his love for Cameron was just bursting from him. He said it as though it caused him pain. What an expressive guy!
And speaking of expressive, he has quite a vocabulary. He uses words and phrases that he picks up from adults all the time. He quite often sounds like a clone of his favorite uncle, Joel. There are times when his vocabulary sponge brain is not such a good thing. He was just three when I overheard a conversation he was having with Cameron. It went a little something like this:

Cameron: (excessive grumbling about whatever had not gone his way.)
Ethan: Just relax, Dude.
Cameron: What??
Ethan: It means don't be grumpy.
Cameron: (telling Ethan off for being bossy)
Ethan: Don't be an ass!

Sometimes Ethan is a little too smart for me. (Not hard, I know.) Not long ago I looked at him and told him I would have to give him a haircut that day. He objected and protested and complained. You see, I just have this cheap pair of clippers that pulls a bit at the boy's hair and causes them some discomfort which they interpret as excruciating pain. So I put my foot down, told him he was starting to look like a baboon and that haircuts had to be done that day. He mumbled a "Fine," and retreated to his room. Later on that evening I heard Ethan "whispering" to Cameron and so I perked my ears up to have a listen. Ethan said, "I tricked Mom today. She said I had to have a haircut, so I put on a hat so she wouldn't see my hair." I was a little stunned. He had tricked me! I saw him in a hat that afternoon and told him he looked cute in it, but thought nothing else of it, which was stupid because he never wears hats. He grinned at me, but kept quiet. I was fooled by a conniving child's simple plan. By the time he told his conspiratorial secret to Cameron, it was too late for me to cut his hair that day.
If you can't tell by all these stories, let me sum it up for you: I love Ethan SO BAD, but he is going to be trouble. I can feel it.