The Not So Little Guy

Yesterday was Grayson's 12th birthday...one year from being a teenager, one minute from being too big for his britches, and 7 years from his last birthday with his Dad.  We had a great day, Carl and I both took the day off and had a marathon of kid activities with G and one of his friends.  It's hard to believe how big he is now.  When he was born 12 years ago, he weighed just a little over 4 pounds, was 13 inches long, and was the tiniest, most perfect thing I'd ever seen.  Now, tiny isn't a word ever used to describe the child who is only a couple of inches shorter than me (and measures that difference in height almost daily!).

I've had people tell me over the years how much he looks like Daniel and I've been able to see it most of the time, but he still looks just like Grayson to me. Occasionally I see a flash, so very clear, of Daniel when he was young, and it just jumps out at me. His appearance isn't the most amazing part though. Its his behavior. He was only 5 when Daniel passed away, so there wasn't a lot of time for him to pick up Daniel's habits.....however, he is his father's son in so many ways it makes me laugh out loud.

My little guy is always right, knows everything about everything (even if he really knows nothing), and will argue a point until all other parties give up. He talks like him, has facial expressions like him, sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating like him, sits like him, etc.  He is Grayson, his own person with unique qualities, but he is definitely Grayson Dippel. A chip off the old block, for sure!

Happy birthday to my G, it's been an honor to be his mom and watch him grow up into such a great kid.