Dane Robert - Yesterday and Today

Today is Dane's 6th birthday!

He was our 2nd great grandchild AND our second great grandson.

Dane is a very important part of this large family,

a very important part of this smaller, large family,

And a very, very important part of this even smaller, but still large, family.

I wrote about Dane in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015; and those posts tell a lot about Dane and his personality.  And the following pictures will show how he's changed physically 'through the years'.

But now I want to talk about what's been going on in Dane's life during the previous year.  First of all, he's spent the year getting to know his brand new baby sister, Emma.

Next, he's started and completed kindergarten since we last blogged about him.

Also, he's excited that he's going to be a big brother again since a new brother or sister will be arriving in just a few short months.   And he enjoys sports

but that's nothing new since he's been enjoying sports and loving baseball since a very early age.

And he now enjoys floating around in the water

And that is something new because at a very early age he was a little skeptical of this activity.

Also, he and his family spent the holidays in Gulf Shores with his giant extended family this year.

So he's had a busy year.

But there's lots more to tell about Dane besides what he's been doing.  He's very adventuresome and courageous.  I watched the other day as he worked to get up the nerve to jump into the water instead of easing in as he'd always done before.

 Of course he had lots of support and encouragement from his grandpa, Tracy. But he needed it because that was a pretty big pool he was jumping into.

 Finally, he jumped!

 And came up smiling and proud and headed for the rest of his encouragement which was his dad and his sister.

He's also sweet and helpful.  

And now Dane will be starting first grade in a few days - a big step for sure but I know he'll do well because he's cooperative, smart, and a hard worker.  He's also loving and loyal to his siblings and loves his family more than anything.

We're wishing this wonderful boy the best birthday EVER and a year that's even better than his special day.  Happy Birthday, Dane!  We love you so much!