Dear Nicklas: You’re 5!

Dear Nicklas,

I call you my baby, and you say, “No I’m not a baby, I’m a big boy now!” And I know in my head that you are, but in my heart you’ll always be my baby.

I decided this year that I would go all out for your birthday, because in the previous 4 years I really haven’t gone to too much trouble for your parties. We decided on a batman themed party at the tennis courts. You and 15 other kids had a fantastic time, and Batman himself even showed up, even though one of your friends shouted “He’s not the real Batman! He’s just pretending!” I think you still enjoyed the fact that Batman was there, and it wasn’t until later that night you said, “He wasn’t really batman you know, he was just a person.” My heart broke a little because I thought this might have been the last year I could have gotten away with you actually believing it was batman. In case you’ve always been wondering, it was actually uncle Adrian.

You’re half way through your prep year of school, and you are doing so well. It was definitely the right decision to send you to school, even though some of the kids in your class are already turning 6 and you’ve only just turned 5 today*.

When you were born I couldn’t imagine having a toddler. Then when you were a toddler I couldn’t imagine having a little boy. That’s because I couldn’t have dreamed of having a happier, cheekier, more gorgeous, big grown up boy like you are today. You are smart, kind, sweet, and you love to have cuddles and kisses with your mum. You also like to tell the biggest stories, and talk a lot about missing your grandpa, someone you never even got to meet. It makes me wonder if you met him on your way to us.

You are constantly talking about getting a dog. Aunty Kayla has two dogs and you are just waiting for the day we move into a house that has a yard so that we can have one too. I would love for you to have a dog, but I also remember how much work they are and I don’t know if dad and I are ready to take on that responsibility just yet. Looking after you is work enough!

You think poos, farts and waving your naked bum bum around in our faces is funny. It’s how we know you are truly a BOY! You’re really enjoying playing soccer on Saturdays and you’ve also taken some tennis lessons and enjoy that, too. It helps that you like to be active, because it makes up for all the time you spend playing Wii. Lately you and dad have been playing Lego Batman wii and Lego Star Wars wii. Most people like Obi Wan Kenobi or Luke Skywalker. Not you. You like Darth Vader and Boba Fett. You also play a lot of reading eggs on your laptop, which is a great tool for helping kids learn. I think your addiction to it might be contributing to how well you’re doing at school.

It’s been hard for me to come to terms with the fact that you are now 5 years old. The time has just gone so quickly. You even said to me that you are “this many” and held up 5 fingers. Then you said, “One day I’ll be THIS many” and held up 10. I am certainly not ready for that to happen! I don’t even try to think about what things will be like when you are 10, or 15 or 20. I’d rather just focus on how awesome you are at this age right now. My big 5 year old. You’ll never know how much we love you, until you have a child of your own. It’s a love only a parent can understand.

Happy Birthday my perfect boy. I love with you all my love heart, as you would say. “I love you with all my love heart, all the way to my back” and you touch your hands together behind your back.

All my love,
Mum

* His birthday was Sunday, but this was scheduled as an IBOT post

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT!

 

Dear Nicklas

Dear Nicklas,

A while ago I was giving myself an ulcer over whether or not to send you to school this year. Born on the cut off date, I thought perhaps you weren’t ready – emotionally OR mentally. Without a doubt, a billion times over, I am so grateful we did send you off to school.  You have not only coped well, you’ve thrived. You love going to school, something I hope continues for at least another 13-16 years, and are learning so much every day you never cease to amaze me.

This morning you pulled a bottle of juice out of the fridge at the coffee shop and sounded the letters out loud, “B-o-o-s-t….boost juice!” In all honestly, you probably just recognized the font/logo from all of yours and daddy’s trips to Boost Juice but you still sounded it out and got it right! You try to read everything, and it makes me smile.

I especially love when you are singing the alphabet song,” A is for apple, a-a-apple, B is for boat, b-b-boat” and you get up to a letter and forget what comes next, so you start singing the alphabet, so you can find your place.

At the parent/teacher interviews before Easter your teacher said you were doing great. She has no worries about your ability, your attitude, your social standing. You sometimes tell me you play by yourself, but she assured me you’re hardly ever by yourself, and if you are, it’s by choice. She said your numeracy is great, and you’re ahead of where you should be with that. Next term things will get a bit more real – there will be homework and you’ll be pushed to write more. I have no doubt you’ll do just as great as you did this term.

I’m so proud of you for the awards you brought home first term – awards for reading, being a kind friend, working quietly and completing all your work, and not 1, but 2 student of the week awards are hanging on our fridge! This makes me especially proud because after the first two weeks, you had already had a warning. After a short discussion about how you could be a bucket filler and not a bucket dipper – something we talk about frequently – you then went and brought home your first student of the week award.

You’ve started tennis lessons and you’re about to start little kickers soccer. I honestly couldn’t be more proud of you. We are so blessed/lucky/fortunate , whatever you want to call it, to have you in our lives. You make us smile, laugh, and you warm my heart every day, (even when you make me want to scream). We will try to make school holidays heaps of fun before you go back for another term at school. I am pretty sure I couldn’t love you more, but then I’ve always thought that and you always seem to prove me wrong.

Love you “a zillion gillion” muches my boy.

love, Mum

 

Linking up for IBOT with Jess at Essentially Jess