Happy 5th Birthday to Our Jacob Brian

My Sweet Boy,

Well, four has come and gone and here we are approaching the big F-I-V-E, and along with it, Kindergarten. 

Four was a big year for you and a challenging year for all of us.  You left your beloved daycare where you had been since birth for a brand new school, a school that will likely be your new home until you graduate high school. 

Unfortunately with big change, comes big challenges, and these challenges are always especially hard for you because, well, you just don’t like change.  I wonder where you get it from?  ;o)  

While you made friends quickly and easily and you had no problems with the curriculum, we could tell that the changes affected you pretty hard emotionally, and it was a constant roller coaster for the first few months after you started at your new school.  Lots of crying, getting frustrated more easily than usual, tantrums galore, and on top of all that, your not wanting to poop on the potty situation escalated through the roof.  That about sums up the first few months after your fourth birthday. 

However, the good always outweighs the bad, and the challenges that you faced have only made you (and us) stronger. 

You have become so much more independent, which is fantastic since you have always relied on Mommy and Daddy for way more than you probably should (I blame myself for enabling you too much these last few years).  You get yourself completely dressed in the morning now (before you always wanted assistance), you have started putting your clothes in the hamper at the end of the day without being told, you let Maui out when she scratches at the door without being prompted, and you now poop on the potty 95% of the time (even though you’ve recently started holding it for days on end again – eeks).  

You have flourished intellectually and we found that your new classroom setting is perfect for you.  You love to learn.  Your teacher told us that you are incredibly bright and well advanced for your age, and she said that you were such a joy to have in her class. 

You started reading whole books.  What?!  I always knew that you would read early, but I could have never predicted that you would be this proficient at this young age. 

You started carrying your own book bag and lunch box into school every morning.  And you even hang your things on your own little hook in the classroom.

You have the best sense of direction.  It’s kind of scary, actually.  You know which restaurants and stores that certain exits lead to, you recognize where we are most of the time without us having to say a word, and you can usually predict where we’re going without receiving any previous information.  The exit that takes us to our house looks just like all of the other exits on the deeply wooded highway, but you always know when we’re coming up on it.  Between that and some of the other things that you remember/say/do, I’m beginning to wonder if you have a photographic memory.

You love music.  Love it.  You always request songs in the car, and they’re never little kid songs.  You request things like Heartbeat by Carrie Underwood and Ophelia by The Lumineers and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa by Vampire Weekend and you love to have dance parties in the car on the way to school.  Your taste is about as eclectic as mine and I love it.

You can recognize a song within the first couple of notes, so not only do you possibly have a photographic memory, you also have a great ear.

You are now sleeping in a big boy bed, and ever since we moved you into it, you don’t need us to hang around as much at bedtime.  Where we used to have to pat your back for 30 minutes or more sometimes, you are now telling us that we can leave after only five or ten minutes and you fall asleep on your own.

You learned to swim this year.  Our minds were blown.  We thought for sure that your stubbornness was going to cause you to be the first kid ever that Mrs. Joni couldn’t train in two weeks, but oh how wrong we were.  Thankfully.

You love puzzles.  And you’re good at them.  You know where every state goes on your United States map, and you knew the names of most of the states before you could even read.

You are still so quirky, needing to have your plate and napkin and bowl lined up just perfectly before we start the dinner prayer, needing to have your water cup with Lightening McQueen facing you before you can take a sip of water before bed, and always saying and doing the same exact things at the same exact times each night during your bedtime routine.

You are not remotely a morning person.  You take after your mommy.

You still love superheroes as much as you did last year, but now you love Star Wars even more.

You love fruit snacks and Blizzards from Dairy Queen, and you still barely eat any vegetables.

You are still teeny tiny (2T shorts and 4-5T shirts) but that’s one of my most favorite things about you.  Such a far cry from the gargantuan newborn you were.

You give the best hugs.  When I hold out my arms you come running, and you jump gently into my arms and wrap your arms and your legs around my whole body.  You squeeze so tight.

You are so funny.  You crack us up every day.

You have really come into your own this year and it’s just another reminder of quickly time is passing.

Happy fifth birthday to my favorite little boy in the whole world.  I hope all of your wishes come true today!

Love,

Mommy

Birthday Letter - Age 4