My youngest little fledging is now 5... which means I now have three children in school full time! I can't even begin to tell you how that has helped my workload... but that's for another blog.
My quirky little guy has really surprised us this year. If you had asked me if we would have seen such a change in him in the space of a year, I would have sadly said no. I am so pleased to have been so wrong. He is learning so much about himself and the world around him. Like his eyes have been opened. And he wants to share that with us, he wants us to be there with him, to enjoy the feel of water pouring, listen to the sound of music playing, cuddle up on the sofa to watch (Dinosaurs, again really?! Can we please change the movie...). I love how he has started to copy me when I'm doing exercises, with the biggest grin on his cheeky little face as he is bent in some weird pose that I'm clearly doing wrong. How he requests, 'Monsters Daddy please, I want monsters' then collapses into a giggling mess as David succumbs to his wish and pretends to be a monster whilst tickling the poor boy until there's only that silence that follows too much laughing (and me in the background doing my usual, I don't think that's a good idea- he's just eaten!).
He adores the outside, the sky, the sounds, the bugs... "I want worms please. Sonny's turn. WORMS." I should get a gold star for digging up those gross wriggly things in the ground for him to study and fascinate over. Using endearing terms for things he doesn't like so much... like calling the dinner placed in front of him slugs or monsters. "Yeeeuck take it away" as he points towards the waste disposal with his grubby little finger. We are proud of his new influx of vocabulary, though he could be a bit more tactile (you really can't get away with calling people slugs too...).
His amazingly oversized eyes draw you in if you are able to hold them long enough, though I often look into those greeny-brown eyes and wonder what he's thinking, what this all means to him. What's so hysterically funny at 3 in the morning.... He seems to always be deep in thought over something, pouring over his encyclopedias, learning about the fish in the deep oceans, or all the insects in the rainforest, or just sucked into his iPad like all the other 5-year-olds. He can show me and name all the planets and has started naming their moons too. Dinosaurs and dragons are also a massive hit. They certainly trump everything else, the mere mention of the word and he will curl his hands into claws and start growling at you. He was in the bath making some growling sort of roar, and informed me, "I'm not a lizard". OK... "I'm a DRAGON!" As if I needed clarification. We just discovered that he was born in the year of the (water) dragon. Go figure! I wonder if that has a link with his fixation... or more likely coincidence. Either way it's incredibly cute and equally awesome.
He has the sweetest, most beautiful little voice. Hearing him use it is pure happiness, we waited so long to hear him use it. We often stop and say to each other how beautiful he sounds when he talks or sings. His ability to mimic animal sounds is pretty cool, and when he copies the inflections people use it's super sweet. His love of music encompasses him, drowning everything out. I'd love to be able to find such calm in such a bustling world. He has started tinkling on the piano, being so very careful and intently pressing each key in turn. The girls come bumbling in, loud and giggly, taking over with their joyful singing and key pounding and that moment is gone much to his frustration!
Having Sonny has taught us a lot about who we were, how far we have come, and where we want to be. I've grown up more, become more understanding of the world around me, become more accepting. I've learned that people judge because they don't understand, and not to get angry with them. I've learned to ALWAYS be prepared, you never know with Sonny if he suddenly doesn't want to wear that particular shirt or sock, and will quite happily be stark naked unless you have provided an acceptable alternative (this does make me laugh most of the time). And following on from my last statement, I've learned to laugh a lot more at sticky situations. Yes I get angry when things go tits up, I get frustrated at my kids, I shout, I flap around like a chicken, but I also laugh because life just is this messy, sticky, crazy riot of a place and if I can't laugh, it means I'm trying too hard and not enjoying the ride.
So my little gorgeousness of a 5 year old, who I could just squeeze and gobble up, you are a bright little star and you make everyone so happy xx
🐉