Dear Oskar,
You’re F I V E. You’ve been asking, “When is it going to be
June?” ever since Christmas, so a small piece of me is relieved to finally say,
“NOW! It’s June NOW!” Spring flew by and here we are, on your golden birthday,
5 whole years on June 5.
Your days start with the sun, though recently, you’ve been
sneaking into our bed sometime in the middle of the night, your need for
closeness stronger than ever. Always, always snuggling, always holding hands. You’re
up and raring to go at 6 but know full well that we very much ARE NOT. Your birthday
party theme this year is “Power Rangers”, which makes us laugh since nobody
else has really seen an episode—this show belongs to you and you alone between
the hours of 6-7am. Sometimes I swear you’re going to be one of those geniuses
who need 4 hours of sleep to survive.
School fills your time on 3 weekdays, which has given you
both some needed structure and a social outlet with a group of little best
friends that you adore. Both you and I thrive on routine, predictability, and
your days at school totally fill that need for you. You, all by yourself,
though, taught yourself to READ this year. It’s truly blown us all away. We
started with a pack of 100 sight words, which you mastered at 4.5. You now read
every single Elephant and Piggie or Dr. Seuss book there is, and being read to
by my not-even-5-year-old before bedtime makes us swell with pride. You, Oskar,
are amazing.
You’re more full of life than ever, and truly LIVE every
single second of every single day. You’re always going, always moving, perpetual
motion, just like your dada used to be. When you’re not at school, you’re
swimming, running, jumping, wrestling, or zooming around on your bike that you
learned to ride without training wheels this spring. You need outlets to your
energy, and totally shine when you have them, and have a hard time when you
don’t. I wish I could have just a piece of it.
You’re still a builder—blocks, LEGOs, Lincoln Logs,
Magna-Tiles, anything, really…so much so that you want to be an Architect
Teacher (VERY specific), when you grow up. I tried teaching you the word
Professor, but you weren’t having it.
You’re still very sensitive, my little empath. You get
frustrated when you’re not the best at something, your feelings get so hurt if
you feel excluded, and you totally crumble when you get corrected by your dada
or me. You need approval, the need to be reminded how loved you are, and to
feel a sense of security. Words of affirmation and physical touch are your love
languages and are so very important to you. You’re always nervous to try new
things and there’s nothing you love more than being home, but we’ve found that
when we push you, it really does wonders for you.
You and your brother are up and down, hot and cold, a
million times a day. You fight about nearly everything but you can’t stand
being apart. August wants to be just like you, and nothing makes him happier than your approval. You love to tackle or wrestle with each other and I’ve come to
accept this penance as a mom of boys. After bath time, in pajamas, you two are
always in your prime, making each other laugh so hard that I wish I could
bottle it up.
You’re on to a practice year of Kindergarten at your daycare
center next year before heading to public Kindergarten the fall after turning
6. It was such a debate on what to do this coming school year, but now that the
decision is made, I’m feeling so relieved to have just one more year before the
start of something so monumental. You’ll keep going to music class and karate on
days that you’re home, two hobbies that you’ve continued through another
year.
This year has taken my you, my little boy, and turned you into such a big kid. Hanging out with you feels more and more like hanging out with my best friend, which has to be the best part about watching you grow.
When I think back to the day that you were born, I had no
idea what you had in store for us. How much you’d challenge my sanity, my
patience, and push me to my breaking point, over and over again. But I also
couldn’t have possibly known how it feels to have your heart walking outside of
your body, how we would give anything, everything, to have you be happy and
healthy. Those same blue eyes that looked straight into my soul 5 years ago are
still the most beautiful eyes I’ve seen. And when they laugh, our whole world lights
up. Happy 5th birthday, my baby boy. May all your dreams come true.
Love,
Mama
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