Number Five Is Alive!

Couldn't help the title.  I'm a girl of the 80's.  :-)

Oh, happy Birthday to our dearest son!!!  Yes, I'm a few'ish days late posting this.  You've settled quite nicely, already, into your fiveness with all the finesse that a big boy can have.  Oh, you're such a person.  SUCH a person!  (Mrs. Katz and Tush reference.  Sister Karen will get that one.)  You're the little man with the biggest hugs.  Legendary hugs!  I hope no one takes for granted these big, enormous, breath-squeezing hugs that you give.  Because the day that you get too big to give them will be such a sad day!

Oh, how you love your sisters - the both of 'em.  You're such a sweetheart to the baby, and Poodle is your dearest friend.  At this moment in time, you are into all things dinosaur, Toy Story, viking, and dragon.  And pirates aren't too shabby either.  You want to be a football player and a Viking (the nordic type, not the Minnesota type) when you grown up.  You've started Kindergarten and you are coming along just as you should.  :-)  Your handwriting is super duper, you're over half-way through your Primer book in math, and you have gotten to where you can *almost* sit still through your FIAR books.  ;-)  Almost.

Your reading skills are out of this world!  And reading comprehension is improving daily.  You don't see things or process things at ALL like Poodle does.  It's equal parts challenging and wonderful, for me as your teacher, to figure out ways to direct your education.

OH, what a busy man you are.  Zero or Sixty.  There are only two speeds in your arsenal.  Once you have decided you can do something, you're fearless and oh-so-coordinated.  And, truly, you've gotten a lot more courageous about trying new things!

Except for food.  Good golly, you are not a fan of food.  Not keen on trying things a'tall.  But, when we think of the things you will eat, we're grateful!  You don't insist on marshmallows at supper or anything odd like that.  You will eat raw carrots and broccoli and green peppers.  You may not like chicken, but you'll eat pepperoni.  Pasta and rice are staples around here.  And popcorn.  And pizza.  You eat gobs of yogurt and drink your milk...  there's really not much to complain about.  Daddy has to remind me that we are going to have to get a second job to keep you in food when you're a teenager and to quit worrying about it right now.  He's right!  (As usual).  ;-)

Son, I can not express well enough how deeply in our hearts you live.  Your blue eyes are full of laughter and full of seriousness at the same moment.  You are full to the brim with passion.  Whether it's loving someone, being hurt, getting mad - there is nothing about you that is fake or forced.  You are who you are.  No games, no nonsense - you mean what you say and you say what you mean, as best you can!

Yes, I still think your communication skills are not 100% up to speed, but it's no big deal.  You'll get "there" - that magical, elusive skill level that makes you blend in with the crowd.  You just have issues with finding the right word sometimes.  And when people speak to you, sometimes the language takes a different path inside your brain as it's getting processed.  It's hard to explain to some people, and they might think that you're just not listening or just not caring about what they say.  But, usually, you're working on the words!

You have taught me so much - about patience and perseverance, yes.  But also about love.  About boys. About letting people be different.  About savoring the moment.  Your medical issues with eczema and with a tricky immune system never slow you up.  You don't whine about feeling bad, when you run low-grade temps for weeks because of your skin.  You don't let a lingering cough from a simple cold stop you from flipping 17 somersaults in a row on the trampoline.  You are tough and strong - and yet, you're still just a five year old boy.  Who is still sensitive and still learning social skills and, yes, has a stubborn streak to rival any ole ornery donkey.  ;-)

You're my widdle man, and I will call you that for just as long as I can get away with it.  I will soak up every single cuddle session in the bed and on the couch.  I will let your hugs seep into my bones.  I will look at you and pray that God will help me help you become the man that He wants you to be.  I will pray for your future wife, if that is in the Lord's plan for you.  I love you so very much, and I'm beginning just now - in this past year of your life - to understand the special relationship that a mother has with her son.  And I'm so, so grateful that God gave us YOU.

Happy birthday to the most wonderful little five year old boy - we love you inside and out and to the moon and back again!