Elijah at 5

Wow, I am still getting used to the fact that our Elijah is five years old. I don't know why it's been such a big shock to me, but I just can't seem to get used to it. Five sounds so grown up! I suppose it's the age of starting school, and there just isn't anything left of the little toddler/preschooler that we used to have around here. He is so tall and thin (yes, I know, he always was - but even his cheeks and hands have thinned out now!) and becoming so independent. He was 46" tall (95%) and 44 lbs (70-something?%) at his exam on Monday. He is learning to do more and more things on his own, and taking more responsibility for himself all the time. He does a great job making his bed, keeping his room tidy and cleaning up the toys and books downstairs every night. I think he is ready to learn to help out even more around the house, and I am planning to give him a couple more chores, but I just haven't had the energy to teach him yet. I'm sure we'll be working on those things in a few months when we start to settle into a routine with the baby.

Elijah has been reading on his own for a while now, and very rarely comes across a word he doesn't know or can't figure out anymore. He is still a very early riser (he's generally up between 5:00 - 6:00 am) and it's been great that he can read to himself in the morning until Molly and I are ready to be up at 7:00. He is much more content in the mornings, and I love that he is happy, safe (and pretty quiet) in his room. He still sleeps for a while at nap time almost every day, although we skip his nap sometimes when we're away from home or something exciting is happening. I think his very early mornings are the reason he's still ready for a nap in the afternoon. Even if he doesn't sleep, though, he still spends nap time quietly in his room - reading, of course! When he is not reading, Elijah is full of energy and loves to run and play. He still enjoys building his train tracks, which get more and more elaborate all the time, and playing with his trains, and has started to enjoy building and playing with Legos, too. He loves to play with Molly, and they have been playing pretend more and more lately, as well as chasing, playing tag, wrestling, and trying to play hide-n-seek. Neither of them really understands the rules of hide-n-seek, but they have a blast playing and finding each other anyway. Elijah loves to play outside, and is happy to spend hours in the sandbox or at the playground, even if it is hot. We are excited to have a yard, and to be able to spend more time helping him learn some of those outdoor skills that he hasn't had much opportunity to practice, like catching a ball and riding a bike.

Elijah usually has a lot to say, and is constantly telling me about the things he learns. He is very interested in dinosaurs and all kinds of vehicles and animals, and has a long list of places that he would like to travel to, including the arctic, Africa, Australia, Japan, a big construction site, outer space, and California. He often says that he would like to be a scientist, but sometimes claims that he is going to be a cowboy, firefighter, or a construction machine driver. He enjoys puzzles and playing games and painting, and loves to sing and dance (when he decides to, but almost never when someone else asks). His favorite song is "mnah mnah" from the old Muppet Show. Most of his favorite songs now are silly ones, but he also likes to "rock out" to U2 with Daddy, and he loves the mix CD and the Clancy Brothers CD (Irish folk songs) that I made for the kids to listen to in the van. He is not at all shy, and often starts up conversations with strangers around him out in public. He loves to ask people how they slept, and if they are having a good day, and usually announces that he is going to have a baby brother soon. Elijah would like to name to baby Jo-Jo or Thomas or Jed. He is going to be a great helper, and has already decided that it will be his job to bring me diapers and wipes and whatever I need.

After long months of deliberation, we decided that the best thing for Elijah this year would be another year of preschool. His preschool teacher agreed, which really helped me feel confident with our decision. I am excited to let him have another year of exploring and growing before he has to start "real" school and head to Kindergarten. I think it will be really helpful to give him another year to develop socially and physically, and I'm not as concerned now about him going back to school right after the baby comes. We're very fortunate that his preschool has a class just for kids who are/will be five this year, and that a few friends from his class last year will be in his class again this year. I am looking forward to seeing how he will learn and grow this year!