Happy 5th Birthday Camden Godfrey
Memories from the past year of your life
Today you turned 5 years old. It kinda feels like you just turned 4 yesterday, but in other ways like you’ve been 4 forever. Either way, it’s been a crazy and wonderful year. Here are some of my favorite memories, in no particular order:
Sleeping: How could I not start with this? You have this amazing ability to fall asleep almost anywhere, almost any time. Often brought on by your incredible fear of missing out and therefore refusal to nap. That, and waking up at 5am to watch videos with your brother. Worth it.
Grandma: Your favorite visitor, and who could blame you. But even better than having her come to us is when we head to Seattle in July . You and Colt played in the “pool” (a raft filled with water), ate junk food, went to a Mariners’ game, and generally lived the good life with someone who wanted nothing more than to bring you joy. Enjoy these moments with Grandma, it’s unlikely you’ll ever find anyone so focused on your immediate joy and happiness, and so willing to do whatever it takes to deliver it.
Tahoe: Going to Tahoe isn’t quite as great as visiting Grandma, but it doesn’t suck either. We stayed in a neighborhood with a shared pool and boy did you make the most of it. You can’t really swim yet, but the floaties didn’t prevent you from taking advantage of the diving board. The first couple jumps took some encouragement, but within a few minutes you were doing twists and tricks. This year we’ll get you back into swim lessons, I promise.
Cuddling: You love hugs. You love to sit close to me. To sit on Mom’s lap. When I read to you, you gently rub your fingers on my leg or arm. You build physical connections and bonds with so many people.
Soccer: At first you really didn’t want to play. But then suddenly you got really into it. Especially defense. You’d stand in the goal and make it your mission to ensure no goals were scored. And then out of nowhere you’d decide to charge downfield on offense. You’d sometimes play with your brother in the backyard, although that more often lead to tears as Colt refused to take it easy on you. Regardless, I loved watching you play. I can’t wait to coach your team next year.
T-ball: Last year you played whiffle ball. This year you moved up to t-ball, and you had a blast. Your favorite was running the bases, and hitting was sort of a means to an end on that. In the field, it was sometimes more fun to play with the dirt than watch for the ball. But by the end of the season, you were asking me to pitch you balls in the backyard, and to play catch with you. You’re excited to try baseball next year, and I’m just as excited to come along for the ride.
School: Last summer you learned all about rocks. Sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. I still don’t know the difference, but you do. In the fall you joined the upstairs class. To keep learning, and to learn to teach. Then this year it was the human body. Your introductory question to anyone you met was “do you know what the largest organ in the body is?” Often before they’d even had time to think you’d scream “skin!” It brought me so much joy to see your passion for learning and for sharing that knowledge with others.
When Colt fell and hurt himself, you commented nonchalantly “lucky thing he has platelets.” A nice way to bring a little levity to the situation (for everyone but Colt, presumably).
Learning: We bought your brother a book about reading, and you dove right in with him. Working out sounds, building sentences. For a while at least. Then you got bored and shifted focus to more important things like race cars and stuffed frogs. But you also learned how to count to 10 in Mandarin. Or maybe to 100? I’m not really sure, my Mandarin is a bit non-existent. Maybe you can teach me sometime.
Running: You love to chase Colt and his friends. And to be chased by Clara. And just to exhaust yourself in general. In May you did your first organized ‘race’ — the Hillsborough Schools Foundation 2k. It wasn’t timed, but you finished strong and well ahead of lots of adults (your mom included, although she was pushing Clara). Still not sure if you share my love of running, but I sure do love watching you do it. I hope by body holds up long enough for us to race together some day soon.
Brotherly Love: You go out of your way to annoy you brother. Pushing, hitting, grabbing a toy when he’s distracted. And saying something over and over and over, despite his desperate calls to “please stop saying that!” But he’s your best friend. Your partner in crime. Chasing, playing games, building tracks, scootering around the driveway. You love Wednesdays when we pick him up from school together, and you jump right in playing with the older kids without missing a beat.
Sisterly Love: Your love for Clara is boundless. You torture her seemingly to no end, but also give her hugs and constant attention. You bring her toys, and take away things she shouldn’t have. You pick her up and push her down. You kiss her face, her feet, her hands. You get sad when you don’t get to tell her goodnight. You teach her how to “read”, to play cards, and how to turn a cardboard box into an adventure. And at random times, for no discernible reason, you’ll shout “I love my baby!”
Ladies man: Your best friends are girls. And your biggest admirers are women. You have this sweetness and sincerity that melts hearts. I really hope you use your powers for good.
Drawing: When you were three, you always asked me to draw things for you. Or color them for you. Or you’d try to copy whatever your brother drew. This past year, you’ve developed a true love for art. For creating. You’ve found your own unique voice and style. You still ask me to draw you stuff sometimes, and then you color it in. But you’ve mostly started drawing your own stuff. You had a brief sports logo phase, but now it’s all about ocean life: Sharks, sea turtles, giant squid, fish, penguins. But you biggest drawing obsession — Orcas, aka killer whales. A trip to Sea World may be on the horizon.
Learning piano: You screw around more than teacher Karen likes, but you’ve learned fast and after a couple months you can now play basic songs. You and your brother even tried to teach me, but I was a lost cause. I can’t wait for you to teach Clara when she gets a bit older.
Crossfit: Every night you’d ask “can we watch American Ninja Warrior?”. You and Colt built makeshift courses all over the house. Obstacles from sofa to ottoman, across chairs, along the windows, wherever. We registered you for a Spartan race at AT&T park, and I was puzzled when you kept insisting you didn’t want to do it. But as you watched your brother start, you changed you mind and you dominated the course. Running stairs, climbing walls, balancing on beams. You were a true champion. And when offered post-race food, of course you grabbed as much as you could carry — a banana, two flavored milks, and five granola bars. You earned it, right?
Stubborn. I spent over two hours trying to make you put pants on so we could go to your holiday concert. And you never budged (so, sadly, we missed the concert). You refuse to wear a raincoat, or any coat, no matter how cold or wet. We finally had to put our foot down in Boston, lest you die of hypothermia from the freezing rain and wind. But back home, our poor nanny Ana has to suffer through regular looks of indignation as you trudge through rainstorms in shorts and a tee-shirt.
Spring training. We traveled to Scottsdale to catch a couple Giants games. You didn’t really love the baseball. Or the swimming pool. Or the hotel. What did you love? Bacon for breakfast. You might have literally eaten an entire pig that weekend. The aquarium was pretty cool too — lots of sharks and turtles, but sadly, no orcas.
Cousins: Josie and Tess came to us last August, and you flew out to Connecticut to meet Maddie and Sydney last week. We don’t see them much, so it brings me great joy to watch you build these relationships. Family is everything, so take advantage of this time to make bonds with the people who will matter the most. And cherish them.
TV: As noted, you love to watch American Ninja Warrior. And certain cartoons of course (Blaze comes to mind). And you tolerate sports, even if you do go out of your way to root against the house favorites — probably just to push Colt’s buttons. But your favorite thing to watch? Commercials of course. Hearing you repeat such classic slogans as “Arbys…We have, the meats!” and “finger lickin’, finger lickin’, finger lickin’, gooooood!” (which drove Colt crazy) always made me chuckle. But maybe the best was at a beer shop when you said “Look! Dilly dilly!”, pointing to a stack of Bud Light. You are certainly your parents’ son.
I’ve loved (most) every minute of the last year. You’ve started to really grow up and have brought so much joy to our lives — and intermittently to Colt and Clara’s lives as well. I can’t wait to see what the next 12 months brings. I love you so so much.
