Happy Birthday, Charlie!
I have the boys write out a birthday quiz each year to keep track of their hopes, wishes, dreams and accomplishments.
You amaze me. Your random creativity, your attention to detail, your love of art.
This past year you and I got to take a trip to San Jose to watch your favorite hockey team play:
It was a super fun father-son weekend. You got right up to the glass for warmup and caught a puck. We ate street tacos, visited a cool museum, and then went out the next night to watch Team Canada play soccer.
One of the biggest highlights of the year had to be our trip to Disneyland. I couldn’t go for a media shoot, so you and Mama headed down and you got tours of Disney properties and you had some one-on-one time with some Disney PR people and the big stars.
You were a full on media pro with your backstage pass, and you rocked it.
Zacharie and I came down after your media work and we had a fun family weekend in Disneyland.
This really was the year you broke out of your shy shell and owned your personality. You are confident, you are capable, and you are proud in your work.
Against the rules I had set, I’ve allowed you to have an old laptop in your bedroom to hack away at assorted Scratch projects. I got you a coding book for Christmas, and you’re plowing your way through the games doing wild things with Boba Fett and tanks that I don’t understand.
You are a code monkey and have asked that your summer camp schedule include robotics, science, and engineering themes.
You’re still a very sweet boy who loves his stuffies. You have a MASSIVE collection of them – many with names. Keemie, Mouse, and Arctic are your faves, but a huge roster of others will find their way into bed with you each night.
This was the year you were a big brave guy and went in for surgery. After already visiting Children’s Hospital once for hernia surgery, this year you had orchidopexy.
You pecked away at a Nintendo DS while you waited your turn, and we were all so proud that you continue to be a hero for Alberta Children’s Hospital with all your fundraising making sure there are toys for kids to play with.
You and I took a fun road trip across BC picking pears and peaches while taking breaks to visit wallabies. We made a fun series of videos for my clients about shaving, and just had a blast.
We went only took one camping trip this year, but Mama came along for the first time and it was fun.
You finished up Grade 2, you’re halfway through Grade 3, and you’re tops of your class. You had Gabriel over for your first ever sleep over this year, and you love playing your Nintendo Switch that you got for Christmas.
This was the year you became fashionable. You started wearing fedoras, amassing a cool collection of them, you fell in love with Blundstone boots, and you demanded that you get a “soccer player haircut.”
You’re still Mama’s baby, but I can quickly see what kind of proud, confident, caring man you will one day become.
Happy birthday, Choochie. We’re so proud.
