My birthday boy.

Alexander turned six.

Wow.

The night before his birthday I went to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight and just looked at his beautiful face not believing that he was getting so big. I said to him with a wide grin on my face, "This is the last time I will kiss and hug you.... as a five year old."

He proceeded to scrunch up his face and profusely cry. My sweet, tender, sensitive boy. I suddenly felt awful saying it the way I did. It was suppose to be funny, but it obviously hit a nerve. He was so touched by that statement and I was caught off guard by his reaction, since he had been building up excitement for his sixth birthday for what seemed like 5 months. Soothing his sadness and drying his tears, he went off to bed to dream of his birthday cake, brownies at school, and more presents.

I have to admit that I was a little sad too. He was a great 5 year old. Someone once told Zack that you really need to cherish every person your child becomes. He meant that Alexander will be different person at age 2 then he is at 5 or 7 or will be at age 17. It is an excellent way to think about that.

After settling down from the bedtime drama, I began to reflect on my favorite aspects of my many Alexanders "to-date".

Infant Alexander:
Sweet and precious, Buddha baby. Overall a happy baby that was big, fat and had huge kissable cheeks. Even though he took forever to sleep through the night, his happy demeanor was heart warming.

Toddler Alexander:
Full of energy with little to say. Perhaps he was too busy lining up matchbox cars into parade routes or sucking on his pacy to care too much about chatting. It took forever to get him to talk with words. Sure, we could have long lasting conversations with animal sounds (Moo, Bah, Grrr, Roar, etc.), but that was about it. Since he was the first child, we, of course, were concerned. When he was 22 months and still not talking when CJ was born, I remember Zack asking the ladies at the gym's kid-care room to teach him some words, since we were failing. But how happy I was a short while later when on our daily walk about the neighborhood, he pointed to a school bus and said, "BUS!". I remember gasping with excitement. Bus. Wow.

Little boy Alexander:
Curious little monkey, but definitely shy and very cautious with new things. He started to really explore the world by going to preschool, making friends, learning new things. His first teacher once said that he came to school a toilet trained infant and grew into a little boy. While this may sound a little harsh, it was true. He was my little baby up until preschool, when his world expanded and he grew up a lot.
This little boy loved his mom the most. I was the center of his world and I was the fun-planner. Every day he would ask me "what are we doing today, mom?" I was his julie-cruise-director and every day was a surprise of fun.

Alexander, 5-year old:
This really was a wonderful year. My sister once said that this was her least favorite age with her boys. So I entered the year just waiting for the shoe to drop. I have to say that it never did.
He turned into such a "boy" this year. Going to kindergarten, losing his first tooth, learning new words on the bus, making friends on his own (not just with kids who Mommy liked to hang out their mothers'), learning to play soccer, becoming obsessed with video games (a trait he received from his father!), and reading. He continues to be my sweet and precious boy. Always asking for a second treat to "give to his sister", asking to help with dinner or the garden chores, and being a good listener. Even when he is being punished or told to stop, he does it without attitude and talk-back. Five was a good year.


I have had the fortune of seeing my nephews grow from their sweet little boy years into their teenage angst years and have really tried to remember how fast all of that happens. I want to remember that 5 year old Alexander as that sweet, sensitive kid. While I look forward to the changes and growth of his sixth year in this world, I will admit I am still cautiously waiting for that shoe to drop.