Turning 5

Six months after Hudson came home he turned 3 and I remember thinking "5 is SO soon".....I don't know what it is about turning 5.  I guess it is the start of a new chapter in life, departure from toddlerhood and the launch into school days.  When they turn 5 they are no longer babies, I think it is when you first start to see them pull away.  It is halfway to 10 and that is SO big and the time goes so fast.  I did not think this way when my other three were little.  Partly because when my oldest was 5, I had a 3 yr old and 1 yr old....partly because I was young and having teenagers was SO far away but mostly because in the midst of zoo field trips and planning simple birthday parties we are waiting for college acceptance letters in the mail and shopping for homecoming dresses.

September 13 was the day in our house, not sure if that is Hudson's true birthday but the date that was given to him so we will go with that.   He was found on the 19th and I am thinking about celebrating that day instead as it truly was the day that changed his life.  I think SO much of his mom (and dad) on that day and the heartbreak I am certian they felt as they left him in a very public place to be found quickly.  SO wish they were part of our life to help us celebrate this fantastic kid.

When Hud woke up Septemeber 13 and the girls told him "Happy Birthday" he looked down at his body, arms and legs and with total seriousness said "but I'm not bigger".  When Kailee explained to him that you don't grow overnight he said "Well, why am I five then?"  See, they want to be big so badly.  He spent the morning of the 13 at preschool and I brought up cupcakes to help celebrate.  He was thrilled to share this day with all of his new friends.  We then headed down to Dallas for a scope and the decision about the next surgery.  He was a trooper as they numbed his nose and threaded a tiny camera down his right nostril to watch the movement, or lack of, of his palate (more on that later).  We got home late and just had a simple celebration with cake before heading off to bed.  He told everyone all week that he really didn't turn 5 until his birthday party Saturday.

On Saturday he finally could be 5 as we had just a few of his closest friends join us to help celebrate.   He is very proud of the fact that he is "older than Calli"..he must have told us this 10 times throughout the day.  In fact, the other day when we were talking about the upcoming field trip to the zoo and he was telling me giraffes were taller than all the other animals he added "just like I am older than Calli"...(again, what is it about 5??)

I am grateful that we get to watch this sweet boy grow....in just a few short days it will our third anniversary of "the call"....how can it be?

"So much depends on......and your big cardboard box"

Hudson LOVES to read books and this is one of his favorites.  It is one of my favorites also as it so simply sums up the life of a iittle boy and the simplicity of their days.  I also love that it came from some of my mom's dearest friends in the country "neighborhood" I grew up in (meaning, the next house was over a few hills and down the dirt road).  

But what I love most about it is what it says in the inside flap:

"The simple playthings, the everyday moments, picking up the hundredth rock-all of these are brimming with possibilities......if you slow down and let the future begin with the small moments of today.  Because everything depends on letting a little boy.....be a little boy

Just think about that last line.  We have got to let our little boys be the little boys God created them to be as their future and their families futures depend on it.  

One thing that drives me crazy is watching moms stifle their little boys.  These bundles of energy who accompany everything they do by a noise (have you ever stopped and listened to them? They typically cannot do much without adding a sound effect...) are made that way for a reason.  They need to play loud and hard and rough so one day they can grow up and be hardworking, protective leaders of their families.  Let them get dirty and messy and stinky.  They clean up.  Let your houses become playgrounds filled with possibiities (and believe me I am a neat freak and have to go to bed with a picked up house but thats the great thing...it can always be picked up).  Let them create and imagine and dream....if only we had more men who dreamed big instead of letting the world define them.  The other day inside his big cardboard box, and that is exactly how he refers to it, Hudson had an empty paper towel holder as a car tunnel and an empty egg carton as his car shop.  Let them wrestle hard with dad, he is training him (and they don't even know it), take apart that bug, jump in the puddle, climb the tree to that higher branch, get up from a fall without a big scene from mom. let him be a risk taker!!  Do you know boys see scars as a good thing?  Jordan LOVES when he has an injury that leaves a scar, kind of like a medal representing that particular battle.  He has one on his wrist from falling on a a nail during a dig thru old debris.  He has one on his chin from jumping down from a high hallway shelf.   Your son was made to be adventurous!!!   Yes, they can wear you out but oh the sweetness of their simplicity. 

So, yes Hudson has a big cardboard box and although we live in a small house with one living room his big cardboard box can often be found wherever he is.....and the other night, he asked to sleep in it.  My answer???? "ABSOLUTELY, i'll help you make your bed!!!"
(and you know who was most impressed that Hudson slept in his box all night?....his big brother!!!)

"Little boy, you remind me how so much depends on days made of now."  

(from the last page of the book)

(and check out my friend Branda's new blog appropriately entitled "days made of now"  

Wordless Wednesay

First Day of School 2010

Four kids, three different schools, three different and very new situations made for a busy first week.  

Madalyn started three days before the other three kids.  It is her first year of highschool and she says it is strange not running into Jordan or Kailee.  Hudson is at the same school but down at the other end and their paths do not cross.  She is enjoying vollyball and the social life of a teenager. 

Kailee began her last year of middle school.  It is a MUCH different atmosphere but she is enjoying it and having fun connecting with friends kindergarten and her soccer playing days.  She is in the second week of Vollyball tryouts and will cheer at her first football game in two weeks.  

 

Another first for my two favorite boys.  Jordan began his Sr. year at the public high school.   He is enjoying it and we just sent off his first college application.   Hudson started pre-K 4 and as we knew he would he is thriving.  I realized as I took this picture that next year my baby will start Kindergarten and my oldest will start college.    Thinking about it now gets me teary so I will choose to be in denial.  

Took this with my iphone and enlarged it so it is terrible quality but this captures Hudson's excitement as we dropped him off.  I was anticapting a hard morning with tears from me as we have never sent one off to preschool since I homeschooled for several years.  Thinking of where Hud was just a little under 2 1/2 years ago and the opportunities available to him now makes my heart swell with gratitude that WE get to be part of his life.    Well no time for tears as he couldn't get into his class soon enough and waved us on.   It all happened so fast and there we were, Mark and I, just looking at each other like "ok, guess we go on with the day"....very anticlimatic.  

Of course Hudson is always full of sayings that keep us laughing.   The boy is dying to learn to read and after his first day asked me to teach him how to do homework.  Before bedtime we sat down with letters and worked on his name.  When I said it was bedtime he became VERY distressed and said "but I haven't learned to read yet!"  I explained it was a process which he wasn't at all impressed with.  

Friday when I picked him up he was tired and when I asked him how his day was he said "I'm tired of holding that bible everyday, it's a little bit heavy"....Oh boy....what a character.  

We worked several times during the week on the letters for his name and I was SO proud of him when I opened his take home folder Friday and he had three papers with his name clearly written on them.  One day at home he even wrote his middle name!!!  This boy is ready to learn!

I'm looking forward to many firsts this year (and will try not to think about the "lasts").    Tapping into the mom network to learn the ins and outs of homecoming "big public school style".   Sheesh....a far cry from the simpleness of a football game and dance in jeans like when I was a teen....a couple more weeks to prepare...