Happy 5th Birthday Jonas

Dear Jonas,

Happy Birthday my sweet younger son!  You are five today.  Yes, five!  After months of telling people over and over again you are 4 1/2 years old, you can now proudly proclaim yourself as a big five year old.  No longer are you a toddler, but a little boy heading into school next year!

As you got ready today and had on pants for the first time in months, I thought to myself, “My, Jonas looks so big!”  You have lengthened out and have a slender body; any toddler chub that you may have had last year is all gone.  You still have your beautiful big brown eyes, and that wry smile that speaks mischievousness that I love.  You are also still very snuggly, and I love stealing moments where I can snuggle you while you lay quiet in my lap or in bed.  I know that this will only last a few more years, so I treasure the extra snuggles that I get right now.  While you certainly can be loud and rambunctious, you are by nature, quiet.  You like your alone time, which reminds me that you still are an introvert.  On the occasions where it’s just you and me, we can spend time together without saying a word.  As an extrovert, I’m surprised how much I enjoy our times when it’s just quiet and the two of us.

I must say, you’ve made many developments in the past year that have caused me to raise my eyebrows in surprise.  Physically, you have picked up two skills very quickly – swimming and riding your bike.  Let me put this in perspective, you are at the same swim level this fall that your brother just finished this summer.  Sean is already pretty athletic, so it’s amazing for me to see your athleticism.  I got glimpses of how physically mature you were watching you play soccer in the fall, so I don’t know why I’m surprised at your swimming skills.  Similarly, I was so surprised when you picked up riding your bike after three half-hearted lessons from me (forgive me it was hot and humid those days!).  It’s not just that you picked up riding your bike so quickly, but the fact that you were able to ride like you had been riding for months in just a matter of days.  Amazing!  I think we’ll have to foster your love of physical activity as you continue to grow.

Something else that has caught me by surprise is your mental growth.  You are starting to add.  Yes, I said add.  Oftentimes, we’re riding in the car and you’ll start doing addition problems and telling us answers.  Then, you throw in some subtraction with correct responses.  At first, I thought you were just memorizing what Sean was telling you, but in all honesty, I believe you actually know how to add and subtract small amounts.  You have also taken a huge interest in time.  You can read time very well, and you tell me when you’re supposed to do things:  “Naptime is at 1 o’clock, and I come out at 3 o’clock”.  You also are infatuated with watching the time turn “zero zero” as you say.  There have been many a times where I’ve had to keep the key in the ignition so you can watch the time change to “zero zero” in the car.

Your relationships with your siblings have deepened with time.  You and Sean are so close as brothers, which also means that you can be antagonizing each other constantly.  For the most part, however, you are often playing nicely together.  You two are often behind closed doors in your room playing games or building things together.  You like being with your brother and you are interested in the things that he’s interested in, and you do your best to keep up with him.  Some of your favorite things to do are to play games with Sean – board games to be more specific, soccer, football, and ride bikes.  Two peas in a pod.  With Karis, you have started to play the “big brother” role more, and you do your part to care for her and play with her.  You are the glue that runs between the siblings because of your age, and it makes me smile to see how you play with both siblings.

You are warming up to people this year, though you are still very shy in new situations.  I can see how you’re growing because you find courage to try something new, even if it takes some coaxing.  There are, however, no tears, and that’s a big achievement!  Most of the new things you’ve tried, you’ve enjoyed – VBS, swim lessons, golfing, pre-school.  Seeing how you’re still shy makes me glad that we didn’t put you in kindergarten this year; I think this year will be nice for you before you transition into elementary school.  It certainly wasn’t academics that kept you back!

This year has brought in a lot of humor as well.  You do things that just make me laugh.  Just a couple of days ago, you hung two animals upside down in your bunkbed so they looked like monkeys.  One of them was Baby (aka your green frog).  I just laughed at your ingenuity.  Something I also joke with you about is the smell of your feet.  Months ago, I caught you smelling your own feet, and you said to me, “Mom, my feet smell like dunker-rings [dumplings].”  I burst out laughing.  So, now, I ask you if your feet smell like dumplings.  Most of the time, it’s no, but just the other day, you said, “They smell like trash”.

Some of your favorite things right now are Pixar Cars, Pixar Planes, Mario Kart, Garfield (because of Sean), coloring, and riding your bike.

We’re saying goodbye to your toddler years, but I’m happy to watch you enter your first year of boyhood.  I love you so much, sweet boy, and I’m so thankful to be your mommy!

Love,

Ramona