Oy vey you guys.

Let the fact that I never blogged about Bean’s birthday be proof of the craziness of the last few months and NOT proof that he is not profoundly loved.

Because this little guy who is now 8 1/4 is just amazing.

His birthday always falls right on or just before school starts again. August 31st is a really hard time to have a birthday when you’re one of 5 kids and school is about to start. Especially when you have a mom like me who freaks out ever so slightly about re-training the kids to go to bed at a decent time and get their 30 minutes of reading a day. (Also when was the last time you guys brushed your teeth? Do that.)

One of my favorite parts about my Bean is that he isn’t fazed by any of that. I told him that on his birthday he got to choose what we did ALL day.

He chose to consume only chocolate milk. This comes as no surprise to anyone who knows him (including the women who work in the cafeteria at our camp who bestowed him with this name tag.)

 

Instead of asking for friends to come over he asked specifically that he got to hang out with his siblings all day. Bean and Dailah behave like twins quite frequently but Bean also loves wrestling with his big brothers.

In short, the day was spent playing A LOT of video games, eating A LOT of chocolate and hanging out at home. Normally a kid turning 8 would think it was pretty lame but at the end of the night Bean exclaimed, “This day was INCREDIBLE!”

Oh man this guy. He has the patience of a saint. Genuinely, a saint. If Bean snaps it’s typically because he’s put up with hours or days of crap from someone and he just can’t take it anymore. I would say he snaps once a month on his siblings which is why he deserves sainthood-they deserve it at least daily.

His patience is also proven in how easily he gets along with my littlest nieces and nephews. My 4-year-old nephew Cassius is adorably obsessed with Bean and Bean eats it up. My niece Adley is the same way. Bean never tires of them and I think it is just too sweet.

 

Maybe the most amazing thing about this little guy is his tenacity. In all things, really. Things don’t come easily to him often-walking/running/math-all a bit tricky. But that doesn’t stop him. Ever. Need a cup?

All his siblings playing soccer? Sign him up too!

Run down a sandy dune in the dead of summer with one foot that still won’t fully plant on the ground? Child’s play.

Wrestle with a kid at soccer practice and endure the pain that comes with teeth being implanted into your scalp? There’s a smile for that.

It’s hard with our Bean because he can often be so quiet. I think even those of us who love him dearly in his family underestimate him on almost every level. Physically-of course, because we can’t imagine what it’s like to have so much pain every day in our legs and continue on anyway we tend to baby him a bit-much to his chagrin. Our delight and surprise when he says something simultaneously insightful and witty proves we also underestimate his mind and his social awareness.

I genuinely have no idea what the future holds for my Beantown. I think with all of my other kids I’m at least able to say, “I would be surprised if he/she didn’t pursue x” but not Bean. Bean is a mystery because he’s so freaking happy doing anything. He is just as delighted laying down and cuddling for hours as he is wrestling with his brothers or playing on a computer. I just find that incredibly inspirational.

I love you Binyam-ay, thanks for being my little ray of sunshine. Happy birthday buddy.