Birthday Letter to My Five-Year-Old

Dear Luke,

Happy 5th birthday to my boy! Wow- you are a big kid now! You have grown up so much this year, and I am so proud of all you have learned. You’re almost finished with your last year of preschool, and you have matured immensely since your 4th birthday last spring. You will begin kindergarten in a few months as a 5 year-old, and what an exciting adventure that will be! You are ready, and are already asking me questions like, “Mommy, do I really get to eat lunch at school EVERY DAY?!”

You love learning, and are an amazing, bright child, who is full of interesting tidbits and facts about the most abstract topics: “Mommy, did you know that Abraham Lincoln was our 16th president, and that he was a spectacular man?” You became interested in geography this year, love your globe and U.S. States puzzle, and educated us on details of the solar system. Your preschool teachers often share amusing stories about the things that you teach them and your classmates, like how far away Colorado is, the difference between honey bees and bumble bees, and the ridiculously complex words that you thought of when it was letter “D” week (like “demolition” and “deinonychus”). You’ve taught me the names of many superheroes and various species of dinosaurs this year, and your zest for learning is contagious.

How proud I am of you this year, as you became a fluent reader, almost overnight! You have always excelled at memorizing words and books, but it still astounds me to watch you pick up a new book and read it to me. My baby boy, who once didn’t know how to walk or talk, who needed me for everything, is now an independent reader, which boggles my mind. You learned to write this year, too, and are ambidextrous with handwriting, using both hands equally well. When you turned 4, you could barely form an“L” to start your name, and now you have mastered uppercase and lowercase letters and write full sentences. You add and subtract, tell time, and are learning the rules of card games and sports. T-ball is one of your favorite new activities, and you win the award for spirit each game, eagerly chasing after grounders, running your heart out as you round the bases, and strutting with a little swagger in your step while wearing that precious uniform.

You are funny kid, who likes telling riddles and Knock Knock jokes. You love playing computer games like PBS Kids or your Leapster, and you fiddle around with the IPad and any electronic gadget that you can find. In fact, you programmed our GPS this year to speak and give written directions in Arabic. It took Daddy and I several days to figure out how to reconfigure the navigation system back to English, but how hilarious the whole episode must have seemed to you. Such silly, incompetent parents you have, who can’t even change the language on our Garmin!

As a 4 year-old, you learned how to handle consequences so much better, and you have matured socially and emotionally. There are still “Time Outs”for discipline, but you usually accept these without throwing tantrums, you can express your emotions in words better and have come a looonnng way with impulse control and age-appropriate boy aggression. We have learned that you require a lot of sleep (like both of your parents) and your behavior and mood depend on getting a good night of rest. Since you don’t nap anymore, we put you to bed early (around 7 p.m.) and you fall asleep immediately, after 12+ hours of a busy day full or playing and learning. You sleep until 6 or 7 a.m., and we have found that even slight delay in your bedtime results in a tired little boy the next day. The consistency of your routine is such an improvement from last year when you napped sporadically, thus being up late one night and crashing the next.

You are still extremely tall for your age, and are a healthy, active boy who is in constant motion. You remain the best little eater I know. It is a gift that we don’t have to worry about your nutrition, and you willingly eat your vegetables because you tell us that they “will make me fast and strong.” You tried to convince your teachers that you were “allergic” to Oreos because you don’t like them, which I think is a first for any preschooler!

You begin each day by crawling into bed with me if I am still asleep, and it’s a wonderful way to wake up, snuggling with my little man. You tell me every single day that you are going to marry me when you grow up, and have gone so far as to plan that “Daddy will go live somewhere else.” Not sure how he feels about that, but I will eat up your attention and devotion for as long as you will allow it. When Daddy went out of town for work recently, he told you that you were the man of the house, and to please watch over and take care of Mommy, Leah, and Winnie. You paused to consider this important responsibility and then asked, “Daddy, is God out of town, too?” You often tell me, "Mommy, I love you more than anything in the world," and there is no greater gift for a mother than to hear these words from her son, spoken with such sweet affection and innocence.

I loved this year of you being 4, and the tangible ways that I watched you grow and thrive. You are happy and energetic. You are surrounded by love and you exude joy and enthusiasm. I love watching you embrace new experiences, and the exuberance with which you approach all things in your life. You are such a special, unique, old soul, my Luke, and I am honored to celebrate the first five years of your life with you today on your birthday… to have shared each big and small moment of your early childhood with you. I’ve rocked you as an infant, held your hand as a toddler, and watched you leave the nest for the first time as a preschooler. This year, you will spread your wings even farther as you officially become a school-aged “big kid”. We have so much to look forward to together, and it is a privilege and my life’s joy to be your mother. No matter how big you get, you will always be my little man, and I love YOU more than anything in the world. Happy Birthday!      Love, Mommy