It’s your 5th birthday today, my sweet August James. How it’s possible, I’ll never know. I’m so lucky to have spent this entire year with you, soaking up all of the August-isms and funny things you say. I watched you month by month, learning, growing, and changing little by little without me ever really noticing what was different. But now, looking back, so much has changed. What an absolute light you were. Such a joy during a year that was so hard for everybody.
You start so many of your days sleeping later than anyone in
this house, and man, do I love you because of it. I peeled your covers back the
other day to wake you up, and you told me that you didn’t even get to sleep
yet. But then you’re off, talk-talk-talking your way through your entire day
(your life, really), and it doesn’t stop until you’re ready for bed again that
night. A little tornado. You’re a lover of muffins, cheese, meatballs, and
anything chocolate, and I can convince you to try way more foods than your
siblings combined. You’re finishing your Pre-K home school year, and while I
thought this year would be an academic loss, you’ve actually thrived. You
learned a hundred sight words, are learning to read, can write all your letters
beautifully, and can identify all of your 0-100 numbers. You write the best
notes and little stories and are so proud of your work and yourself. You’ve
been separated from your two little best friends from school for an entire year
but still talk about them all the time. I’m so happy to have you reunited with
them in just a few short days, back to in person school after all this time. You’re
so ready to go, to learn and to play and to leave the four walls of this house,
and also to spend some time apart from your brother. The two of you have grown
so incredibly close this year, and I have no idea how you would’ve survived without
each other, but being able to do your own thing will a breath of fresh air for you both. What a year it has been.
Your love of Batman has slowly waned (but still there), taking a backseat to Mario and Luigi and all things Nintendo. You spent most of your year dressed as Luigi, and this is hardly an exaggeration. I had to buy up every green t-shirt in the tri-state area, and your underwear drawer is full of white cotton Luigi gloves. When your gloves were all in the wash, you wore oven mits, and some of the first pictures I have of you learning to swim are those where you have oven mits on your hands in the pool. Your Mario LEGO set is one of your very favorite things from this year, something you can free-build imaginatively and to have Mario complete whatever course you come up with. You play all around our entire house, so your toys are scattered EVERYWHERE, and you can never seem to find what you’re looking for. You spend your days looking for things that you lost somewhere along the way, and we have to laugh at how type B you are. Your clothes are often mis-matched, you’re always running into things or getting bumped and bruised (you call black and blue marks “bump and blue marks”), and you speed through your work or coloring, onto the next thing as not to miss out on a second of whatever’s next. You’re going to KINDERGARTEN this fall, which is so hard for me to believe, but I also know you’re ready. You’ve been working through Oskar’s kindergarten curriculum a year early and have been playing “up” to anything that your big brother has wanted to do for your entire little life. I know you will be amazing.
You started soccer this week and were finally brave enough to try something new. I’m so proud of you for it. Your personality has always been enormous, but your bravery to show it off in front of strangers has been just the opposite. You’re really growing up now, easing your way into activities for big kids all by yourself, sharing our August with the world.
You’re still my favorite little sidekick, always willing to tag along with mama to the store, to run errands, or for a walk. It’s probably not neutral of me to say it, but you’re my pacifist and rarely the one to instigate anything or to bother anyone first. You’re still independent, imaginative, and playful, and your creativity knows no bounds. You’re happy when everyone else is happy, too, and pick up on everyone’s feelings if they’re not. You love your baby sister and love to celebrate her milestones as one of her biggest fans. She demands your toys, your food, and your drinks…really anything that you have…and you’re always offering whatever it is right up to make her happy. Such a little sweetheart you are.
I always tell you before bedtime how beautiful, amazing, and loved you are, and I can tell how much it fills you up every single time. I’ve tried so hard to make sure I pay extra attention to all of those middle child stereotypes, pulling you aside for as much 1:1 attention as I can. I totally understand how this is a thing, now, though, with your brother demanding activities way above your ability and interest level, being that he’s a few years older, and your baby sister needing me all the time, for, well…everything. You’re the perfect middle child, easy going and independent, made happy by a hug, a cuddle, and a book together. You were made for the part. I can't imagine our family without you.
I am so thankful for every second I had with you this year, the good ones and the hard ones, and I know that I’ll look back on this time, years from now, so grateful for our slow days together. Your smile, your laugh, and your goofy, weird, self is so contagious. How lucky I am to have a front row seat to watching you grow up. My beautiful, big, 5 year old kid who will always be my baby boy.
I love you more than you will ever know, August. Happy one whole hand.
Love,
Mama
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