A Very Special Day!

28 January 2010 8 Comments

Here is a birthday wish to my son Brennen. He turns two years old today. He is such a special little guy and brings so much joy to our family. I absolutely love his personality and his caring nature.

Because I am “The Speed Guy”, I tend to watch him move while he plays. He is going to be small like his sisters, so quickness will be his “friend”.

Brennen loves to shoot baskets. He has a little basketball hoop and we shoot all the time. Well, at least he shoots all the time. He loves to have his mom and sisters shoot with him too.

What fascinates me about watching Brennen is how he has developed his agility, jumping, running, changing directions, and balance. I know he is only two and he is no different than any other two year old, but it is so fascinating to watch his growth and development. It practically takes place right before our eyes.

Brennen likes to lay a rope on the floor and have me jump over along with him. If I jump over it sideways, then he will too. If I bear crawl over it, so will he. When I jump over and make a funny noise at the same time, he tries it as well. He loves to try new and different tasks and have all of us try them with him.

I often think of the young kids who reach five, six, eight, or eleven years old and who have become less active. What a world of movement opportunities they have missed out on. They should be developing their innate movements yet they sit around, eat poor foods, and do little. It kills me to see this.

The seeds of potential are planted when the kids are developing their walking, running, jumping and balancing skills. If a child sits and isn’t active they miss out on some great opportunities to have fun and reach athletic potential, even if they choose not to play sport. Athletic potential is more than being good at sports. It is being good at an active lifestyle.

As Brennen turns two today, my wish is that his enthusiasm for movement only becomes greater and his love of playing grows stronger. I wish this for every little two year old in the world.

Share his birthday with me….my gift to you…..click here now!

8 Comments »

Dean Carlson said:

Congrats Lee, and Happy Birthday Brennen!

There is nothing like having kids to focus our minds on the important things in life…

Dean

# 28 January 2010 at 11:17 am

Steve said:

Happy birthday Brennen!!

# 28 January 2010 at 1:57 pm

Hollister Struck said:

Congratulations Lee and Happy Birthday to your “little man” Brennen!

# 28 January 2010 at 3:00 pm

Erik said:

Hey….happy birthday Brennen!!!

# 28 January 2010 at 5:45 pm

Kester said:

Happy birthday Brennen!!

Lee, you’re are so right!

I work with both kids and adults. And in my adult bootcamp sessions I often set up obstacle courses that would have them crawl through tunnels and roll around on the floor before hopping up to their feet and sprinting.

I remind them of how they moved when they were kids. And I tell them that moving like kids will keep them young and I totally believe that. Now I just have to get the kids to believe that.

Thank you for sharing Brennen’s birthday with us.

Kester

# 28 January 2010 at 6:50 pm

Eysteinn said:

Happy birthday!

# 28 January 2010 at 7:38 pm

Rod said:

Congrats to you Lee. and a very Big Happy Birthday to Mr. Brennen. He is a two year old man. As a father myself, it’s more than a joy to have children. The gift of life is the most precious gift ever and congrats again to you and your spouse for providing that to Brennen.

Every now and again, just stoop down to his eye level and you will see how facinating the world is, from his line of sight.

We use to video tape our kids growth and development when they were like Brennen’s age and before. Things such as their first step, etc and ever so often we would have a family moment and re-watch those tapes. It is very joyful for them to see themselves as babies and toddlers. They will appreciate life so much. I usually say to them that they should keep those videos as long as possible and even show them to their children and possibly grandchildren. How nice it would be for their offsprings to see them when they were kids.

A child’s heart is a clean slate. You can write anything to it.
A smile is a language that even a baby understands.

Best Regards,
Rod.

# 31 January 2010 at 2:35 pm

Lee said:

THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE! IT REALLY MEANS A LOT TO US ALL AT THE TAFT HOUSEHOLD. I WILL MAKE SURE BRENNEN KNOWS!

GOD BLESS!

LEE

# 26 February 2010 at 1:13 pm