William Dean at 5 1/2 Years

It's been quite an adjustment for this (now) 5 1/2 year old to officially become an elementary school student!  And, sadly, I'm afraid this half-birthday post might sound a bit more negative than my usual milestone posts.  Don't get me wrong... he's thriving in school as far as I can tell and he's still our sweet and smart boy.  But this has been a challenging few months in more ways than one.

First, a few pictures to catch up from Will's last milestone post at age five.  These were back in the summer, before school started.

Also, a few basic statistics to start:

Weight:  ?? around 40#??

Height:  42 1/2"

Clothing sizes:  size 5 jeans and pants, size 4-5 shirts, size 11? shoes... I think?

Loves:  Transformers (still), Ohio State Buckeyes, singing school songs, reading, eating pancakes, mastering mazes and word finds and hang man (in activity books), dinosaurs, eating fruit, school friends, writing/coloring/drawing (WHAT??? NEVER thought I'd see the day), short-sleeved shirts and shorts (no matter the weather), watching library movies, pretty much everything about school, his red Under Armor t-shirt, being read to, visiting the library, wrestling and play fighting with his daddy, building forts with his sister, snuggling with his mommy, visiting his grandparents, playgrounds, karate, pizza, baking cookies... mostly to sneak the chocolate chips and lick the spatula, telling us jokes that he learned at school, eating in general, smoothies, playing games, family outings, taking off his socks, being completely naked to take a poop, lying down in the bath tub for a leisurely soak, the color "scarlet", sampling fruit at The Andersons, etc. etc.

Dislikes:  putting away his belongings when we walk in the door!!!, not getting what he wants, responsibilities in general, long sleeves, many multi-ingredient main dishes, feeding the dog (mainly the smell of his food), following directions when he's not in the mood, being in trouble (cries A LOT), his sister's habit of purposely agitating him, being told no, socks, un-melted cheese, going to sleep, picking up after himself, pooping without the bathroom fan on, drinking in general (except for the occasional dire thirst for water that follows his probable dehydration), time outs, having to wait for something he wants right now, the dark, etc. etc.

Bedtime:  7:30-8:30 depending on his behavior and how the evening flows.

Wake time:  we wake him at 7:30 on week days; he wakes between 7:30-8 on weekends.

Still naps at least once a week, though needs it far more than that.

Here's the gist of our frustrations...

Will is completely irresponsible with belongings and the routines that we have in our day to day life - mostly the ones in our busy times right before and after the work/school day.  He is REALLY struggling with lack of nap in the middle of his day.  By that, I mean we get the worst of him every evening and often in the mornings when we have to wake him.  :(  One particularly difficult night (in the middle of a week when he wasn't feeling great either), his completely disorganized tantrum seemed to go on forever until finally Craig put him in time out in his room until I called him for dinner.  When I went in to get him, he was curled up in the fetal position and passed out on his bed.  :(  Sometimes it feels like the only time we get to be around our regular, well-behaved, sweet Will is on weekends in the morning and following a nap.  It seems he is doing well during school, so I'm glad that his good behavior is seemingly reserved for school days, but it's so frustrating that there's really nothing we can do to remedy this except to give him as much opportunity for sleep as possible.  Will is ridiculously sensitive lately.  He whines ALL THE TIME and cries sooooo easily and often.  If we playfully tease him... if we discipline him... if we look at him wrong... he's melting down in tears like a toddler.  He just behaves like he's spoiled and I don't really think he is.  We have had issue after issue after issue of Will forgetting his hat at school or on the bus.  When the weather was more in transition, it was his jackets too.  But now mostly it's the hat.  And it's constant.  We've lost one entirely and had to retrieve MANY out of the school lost and found or from other more responsible individuals (adults/friends) that collect it for him when he forgets.  Will is bossy with Sophie - seemingly the older sibling syndrome - and wants to micro-manage a lot of her play time and direct her every move.  He has been extra defiant recently and I almost don't recognize this boy who claims he's going to refuse what I've told him to do or not do.  That is not my Will.  He says and does things that he's never said/done before (thankfully, no bad language so far) and that he's never seen/heard at home.  So I can only deduce that he's picking this stuff up from peers at school.  It's a challenging time as a parent.  I can't shelter him from most of this any more than I can shelter him from outside people in general.  But it is a full-time job trying stand my ground, enforce our family rules and values and insist on being treated with respect, and trying to teach him to be responsible for his things!!!  His casual nonchalance drives me CRAZY sometimes!!

On the flip side, he LOVES his teacher and her class room.  He loves all of his specials in school (gym, music, tech, art, library) and all of the routines of his school day.  He has shown a HUGE improvement with handwriting and coloring (when he tries).  He has TONS of new friends and, because Kindergarten is still so young and innocent, they hug each other and say "I love you" to one another.  I've witnessed that and it's so sweet.  Will is definitely thriving and happy in this phase of life, even if it's taking a toll on the rest of his day and loved ones.

Another sweet note is that Will still loves to be held, snuggled and even rocked.  He reaches for me and even asks to be picked up.  He holds my hand and loves to hug.  If I pretend to baby him, he seems to bask in the exaggerated attention.  He buries his face in my neck and still twirls/plays with my hair.  He is definitely a little love.

He pours profound amounts of energy and focus into his favorite pass times and still has an innate desire to constantly learn and figure things out... just like his daddy.

Will is the apple of his daddy's eye and still such a light in our lives.

He is so bright, he astonishes us sometimes - particularly with language, reading, spelling, memory and understanding complex concepts.  It is a fantastic pleasure to watch him learn and to be caught off guard by what he shouldn't yet comprehend at this age.

What I love about Will's play is that he happily engages in the simple things that we make available to him.  Of course, he certainly loves his TV time... but he doesn't have access to electronic gadgets or a plethora of battery-operated toys so far and at the rate he's demonstrating responsibility for his hats, he won't be the owner of any hand-held toys that many of his peers talk about.  The school is actually encouraging the children to bring those things on the bus, by the way!  Can you believe that???  Craig and I were shocked when we read the letter that said hand-held electronics are allowed and encouraged during bus rides.  What????  No flipping way!  Not happening.  We bought him a $1.99 mini spiral bound notepad and a click pen so that he can't lose the cap.  That's in the front pocket of his back pack for bus rides.  How about some old-fashioned tic tac toe or hang man?  ;-)

There are times during rested weekends, that our boy is happy and willing to be helpful around the house when I request it.  His repertoire of tasks that he's able to complete continues to grow and I love that he's learning to do these things.  I want to teach my children to be self-sufficient and prepared for the world of responsibility.  Sometimes that's a battle.  Other times it's a breeze.

So that's Will in a nut shell these days.  God love him.  He's the biggest stinker and the most lovable snuggler and sweet-talker all wrapped into one.  I think we'll keep him, though sometimes we don't wish to claim him.  ;-)

In truth, our 5 1/2 year old is just finding his way in his changing world.  Can't fault him for that.  We just need to pray for guidance on how to be what he needs us to be.  Love and guidance and prayer.  That's our parenting mantra.  :)

Love you, big boy!  xoxoxo