So proud of how far my son has come

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Lately I can't help but realize how far my son has come from the once shy, yet high spirited little terror he used to be. From the minute my son figured out he could get to things he wanted he tried getting into things. He was climbing before he was walking. If he couldn't reach something he'd find a new way to get it. At a year old he would use a broom handle to reach light switches. He knew what he wanted and he was bound and determined to figure out a way to get it. He was my wild child, and he didn't like being told no. He would throw screaming tantrums, and he refused to talk to anyone he didn't know, and would hide behind me. I was a shy kid, but you would never see me throw myself down and scream in a public place either, my son was sometimes a walking contradiction. When he hit 4 he finally started to mellow out. To this day I thank preschool for taking care of his social issues. As for the behavior, I think part of that was him getting older, and the other part was us constantly getting after him and not letting him run all over us. Brayland has always been polite though, we instilled manners into him at a very young age. As soon as he learned to talk we taught him how to say please and thank you. The reason I said he was a walking contradiction, is because he would say hi to strangers but then hide behind me when they talked back to him. He had what I called selective shyness, I think it was more social issues than actually being shy. He was slow to warm up to people, and he didn't like being left anywhere other than with my mom. Anyway, fast forward to him at 6 years old, and he's come so far. He's polite, outgoing, he has to talk to every single person he meets. He has no filter, and basically says what he thinks. He is funny, sweet, kind, stubborn, and he's still amazingly polite, most adults love him. He doesn't get on as well with a lot of kids, because he isn't trying to win a popularity contest. I love that he is exactly who he is, and doesn't try and pretend to be anyone else. He won't change who he is to make others play with him. The kids he does play with like him because he's him. He probably won't ever be popular, and he will probably never win awards for the best behaved, because he's not the best behaved kid, but he's well behaved. He's too goofy and outgoing to be the type of kid that constantly gets good behavior awards. He probably won't be an overachiever, but he's going to do well in life, I think. He's creative, funny, outgoing, and knows what he wants, and doesn't want to settle for anything less. When he was a toddler I didn't see him being this way, he has always surprised me. Every adult I've come across tells me how much they love my son, and it makes me smile. I'm glad my son has such an impact on people. I was not the most memorable of children, a lot of teachers forgot about me after I got older. I was well behaved and quiet. Most people don't remember me. I don't think my son will have that issue, he makes sure people remember him. He is well behaved, but he is still him and he still talks and does things that won't get him to the top of his class behavior chart, although he has came pretty close to it a few times. My son originally started preschool on an IEP (Individualized Education plan, it got him one on one help) because he had fine motor issues, but by the time he finished preschool he moved to middle average fine motor, and now he's this budding little artist. I am amazed by how far he has come, he used to hate to color or do anything remotely related to fine motor. Now he loves drawing and coloring, and I found out yesterday his art teacher chose one of his pieces of art to be in an art show. I am so proud of him and how far he has come. As parents we all think our kids are the best or the most special, and that's how it should be. For me I just see how far my son has come, and I am so proud of him. He went from this little terror who was still sweet, cuddly, and polite, but who was the biggest little handful who was into everything. He has always been smart, and inventive, but now he is doing more than I ever would have imagined, and now he is everything I never thought he would really be. I never imagined he'd be outgoing. I have always joked that he'd be the clown of the classroom, because he has always enjoyed making us laugh. He's still my little goof. I am just proud of the little person I created. He's growing up to be such an amazing person, and I'd like to say I can't wait to see who he is going to be, but I can, because time is already going so fast, and I'd like to keep him little. I do sometimes feel a mixture of being excited to see who he will grow up to be, and keeping him little. Currently he says he's going to be a daddy, a doctor, and possibly a ninja lol. He has always maintained he is going to be a daddy. He loves babies, and he takes it upon himself to watch out for them. I am sure we all feel this way about our kids, and that's exactly how it should be.