Happy 4th Birthday Levi Edison!

Dear Levi,

Happy 4^th birthday! You’ve had quite the year.  On this day four years ago, after 48 hours of no sleep, 24 hours of labor, and an emergency C-section you arrived! You entered the world with your foot on the pedal and haven’t slowed down since! 

• Weight: 38 pounds (you may be carrying a couple extra pounds thanks to the steroids)
• Personality: Outgoing. Strangers often say “he’s not shy”. You light up a room with your presence. For example, when we go to clinic you talk to everyone. You’ve created relationships with many of the doctors, nurses, etc.  You are so curious – when I take you into stores, you will ask the employees what they are doing and why. You like to ask questions.
• Foods: You can be picky. You love yogurt, popcorn, waffles, mac n cheese, apples, gummy candy, chips, coffee (just 2 sips!). You are not a fan of: French fries, green beans, chocolate
• Favorite places: Obviously Nana and Boompa’s house & Maw Maw & Pop Pop’s house, the pool, the ‘chip store’ (aka Dean & Deluca’s), Gretchen’s house, parks, Kristen and Pete’s house (you love it there!)
• Clothes: Typically your size is aligned to your age (you were a 3T but now you’re a 4T), you prefer Dad to dress you, you don’t like wearing socks to bed (like me!), all your pants have holes created by you, if you dressed yourself it would be your “basketball shirt” (which is just a JCrew t-shirt that says Coast Is Clear but you love it) and pants with your running shoes.
• Daddy time: You love to “get lost” on stroller runs with Daddy which basically means you want to take a nap and he has to run for a long time through different neighborhoods, you both love playing basketball together and Daddy was very happy this year when you expressed interest in watching football. You know that the favorite teams in our house include: Panthers, Eagles, Hawkeyes, Duke but do not include: Cowboys or the Dirty Birds (Atlanta Falcons). You and Daddy take a lot of trips to Lowe’s and he always buys you a Gatorade. Then y’all come home and “work”. You love to work – you will blow leaves, rake, mow, pick up sticks, etc. all day long with Dad. You LOVE being outside with him. You two are pretty much inseparable now.
• Mommy time: We love to cuddle together. I always lay in bed with you at night and that’s when we talk about your day, how you feel, etc. We also pray together. We love going to the chip store where we sit outside at the water fountain and eat chips. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but we always have so much fun when we do that. We also love sitting at the pool with our feet in the water, watching the big kids dive into the pool. And we take a lot of stroller walks and runs together too.
• Favorite events:
• Charlotte Hornets game where you were the Honorary Team Captain. You were on TV and you went into the middle of the court and met the team captains! You danced on the sidelines and were spoiled with food and drinks. Dad was your partner at the game and it was definitely a special moment for the two of you. My friend Helena and her husband Stormy were so nice to help create this memory for you.
• Beach trips: In June we went to Holden Beach with Daddy’s extended family and we also made a couple trips to Kure Beach with Mommy’s family. We spent the 4^th of July on the beach watching fireworks with Luci and Ivan – a memory you still talk about!
• Family: You really formed some close bonds this year with family. I’ve really enjoyed watching your relationships with Nana and Maw Maw grow this past year. You are very close to both of them and you ALWAYS want to go to their house. This makes me so happy because I was very close to my Grandma Godfrey growing up and it’s such a special relationship to have – Grandma’s like to spoil you and trust me, you love it! Of course, you also have a tight relationship with Boompa and Pop Pop too. You love being around them because they like to play and get dirty! You also grew closer with your Aunts and Uncles and cousins. We’re so blessed to have our family so close.
• Friends: Your closest friend is Brayden from the pool. You love hanging out with him and while it was limited this year after your diagnosis, you both have stayed in touch and I have a feeling this year will become even closer friends!
• Life changing event: On August 26, at 3 ½ years old, you were diagnosed with B-Cell ALL. I’ve written a lot about this so I won’t ramble on too much other than to say that you are so strong. Life threw you a curve ball, slapped you in face, and ran you over with a mac truck and you prevailed. You get up every day and you fight. You have been poked more than I have in my lifetime. You have been given more medicine that most will ever receive. You have spent more time in the hospital this year than any child should. You have been forced to take medicines that make you feel bad. You have been pushed down again and again but every single time you GET UP. You fight. You never stop. You are not a quitter. This is just WHO you are. Take that with you through life! Never let anything try to hold you back from being your best! I’ve seen you fight cancer when you were just 3 years old – nothing, absolutely nothing is going to stop you!

Here’s to another amazing year Levi! Happy 4^th Birthday! You are my heart!