Today Will is officially five years old. A whole hand! He is our baby. He isn't supposed to grow up! I'm in denial. At the same time, I am so excited to watch him continue to grow and learn.
At FIVE, Will...
... is ridiculously tall. Everyone keeps asking if he hit a growth spurt overnight. He might have. He ate a whole lot and slept 12+ hours a night for a week or two. After that was when everyone started asking if he grew overnight. So, maybe he did. I don't know. All I know is that all of his 5t pants were too short all of a sudden and his shorts had to be cycled through to make sure they still hit as close to his knees as possible. He also went to a size 12-13 shoe all of a sudden. He is around 45.75 inches tall (94th percentile). He also weighs around 40 pounds (44th percentile). Still very tall and thin.
... loves to eat but remains pretty picky. Honestly, he would graze all day if you let him. He gets it honest. That is how I like to eat. He is still picky about a lot of things though. He LOVES pizza, Everroast chicken sandwiches, garlic bread, gummies, apple sauce, mandarins, hot dogs, and any sort of chicken when his Daddy makes it in the smoker or oil-less fryer. He also can put down some cucumber and chips. He has become ridiculously picky about chicken nuggets. He loves the ones from Chick Fil A, will sometimes pass on McDonalds and absolutely refuses Wendy's or the ones we can heat in the microwave for the kids at home. That's a newer thing but he much prefers homemade breaded nuggets (baked in the oven) or Chick Fil A to any others. One of his absolute current favorites is steak. He likes a good medium steak. And LOVES when there is left over "juice" to drag it around in.
... is playing baseball again. He is on a t-ball team once again this season as we decided he wasn't quite ready to move up. While he was one of the youngest on his team in the Spring, he is now one of the oldest. His maturity is evident immediately compared to his teammates so we are already thinking of planning to have him try the skills assessment in Spring to see if he is ready for the next level up. He can hit a ball off a tee like no one's business and is getting better at fielding the ball. He loves every minute of it though. Even after getting hit in the mouth 5 minutes into the second practice. Oops. He cried for 3.7 seconds, got a drink of water, and went right back out into the field with his teammates. We knew he was tough after he was hit in the nose last season during a game, ended up with quite the bruise, a slight black eye, and bloody nose but only stayed off the field for about one batter before going back to the game. Our goal this season was to get him to slide into home. It finally worked when one of his coaches convinced him to do it... and now he won't stop. I just wish they had chosen darker pants this season rather than the white they are wearing.
... sleeps like a champ. It's crazy sometimes that I can say that. It's insane to think that this was the same kid that woke up 7-8 times for about 13 or 14 months then continued to wake up 2-3 times a night to have his covers put back on correctly until he was 3 or so. THEN still woke up once a night or so to have his covers put back on until about 6 months ago. Now, he goes to bed somewhere between 7 and 8 (usually closer to 7 unless our schedule doesn't permit it) and sleeps through to 6:30 or 7am the next morning. He gets up to go to the bathroom at night but now covers himself. He doesn't come out of his room until 7 so even if he is up, we hear him playing in his room until it is time to come out.
... absolutely loves school. I admit. I was worried when I dropped him off at his first day of VPK this year. He has cried every other year of school. Last year he cried every morning for about a month. Then repeated that process after winter break. This year he started a bit iffy at Meet the Teacher and took a while to warm up to the classroom but by the next day when he actually started, he was golden. He barely even stops for a kiss now in the morning before he is in the classroom and leaving me behind. I love to see him so comfortable. He says he is super excited to start Kindergarten next year... I think he is likely to be really nervous but we will see. He has grown up so much in the last year that I am not exactly sure what he will do.
... LOVES to learn. It's amazing to me the difference in him at this stage in school versus Kenzie. She was just so young at this point in the year. Will is usually one of the oldest if not the oldest in his class and sometimes it shows. He is picking things up pretty quickly and already has a knowledge base that Kenzie didn't have yet at this point in the year. I think a ton of it has to do with being developmentally ready (AND having Kenzie as a big sister). I'm actually pretty glad his birthday works out like it does and he will be older going through school. He seems to like to play around with numbers like Kenzie does. She already has him adding single digit numbers. I can't take the credit. It is all her and he loves to learn from her.
... would spend all his time outdoors if we let him. He spends all afternoon asking me when it will be time to go outside. He loves to ride his plasma car and bike (with training wheels). He also loves to play with the other kids in the neighborhood. All girls at this point. There is one boy but he is still young so Will doesn't play with him yet. He doesn't mind the girls though. Actually, we are fairly convinced him and our neighbor's youngest have a crush on each other. It's awfully adorable.
... thinks all bodily functions (and the associated noises) are high-larious. The kid even taught himself to burp on command. Lord, grant me serenity. He also decided that sneezing like his Daddy is one of the funniest things ever. For anyone that doesn't know, Steven sneezes so LOUDLY that it echoes through the house. So now Will sneezes like a crazy person. He practically screams "choo!!" at the end of every sneeze. It makes innocent bystanders jump and one man nearly had a choking fit when he started coughing after he laughed like crazy at him. It's a lot of drama for one sneeze from such a little guy.
... may be right-handed... or left-handed. We honestly have no idea at this point. He eats left. He switches writing from right to left and back again. When we ask him, he doesn't seem to prefer one way over the other. Both are legible and he seems at ease. He bats and throws right, but we aren't sure if that is something we sort of forced on him. We are giving him some leeway to try to figure it out. We thought he was going to be right-handed after a couple of years thinking he could be a lefty but now he is switching back again and confusing us all. We asked his teacher to let us know what she notices if she thinks about checking. She noticed that he typically uses his left which is what we are seeing more and more at home. We shall see.
... is still one of the funniest people I know. He knows how to work a crowd. That is certain. He knows how to play to his audience. He knows what to say, how to say it, and what face to make to go along with it to get a laugh. And he loves when he can get a laugh. People are always telling us the funny thing he has done that made them laugh that day. His little smile is contagious and he can tell an entire story with just his eyes. His comedic timing is already impeccable.
... is seriously one of the most polite kiddos I know. While he doesn't always remember to say please and thank you to us, he typically does with other adults. He is also really helpful as long as you don't catch him in a bad mood. If someone other than Steven or I ask him to do something, he will usually do it. If it involves his sister helping though, it is a fight... but otherwise he does whatever he is asked. We are often complimented on his manners and how sweet he is. He does have a stubborn streak though. Other people just don't often see it. He also can become easily frustrated when he is unable to do something quickly or easily, but we are working on that. Typically 5-year-old behaviors for the most part. He is a rule follower with others (just like his sister) so we don't hear about him getting in trouble at school or anything.
Today we say goodbye to what I often consider the "baby" years. True, Will has not been a baby for quite some time, but there is just something about five that seems so much more grown up to me. He is a little kid now. He is officially a whole hand old. Will is such an amazing boy. He is going to go places in this world. He is going to do it quietly and probably from behind the scenes... but make sure to listen closely because he is going to do it with some humor, humility, and a "work smarter, not harder" attitude. I can't wait to see what he does.
Happy birthday to our little man. We can't wait to see what your next year brings. Here's to another trip around the sun. We love you, Bug.
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