And Now He's Six

Dear Anthony,

Tomorrow you turn six-years old. Wait. That's not right, is it? You're SIX? I don't think I'm ready for this!

Five has been a fun year. Pre-K and some Kindergarten...and you're rocking the house, Bub. You're reading and not faltering over words. You're doing math - addition, subtraction, simple multiplication and division, fractions...you blow my mind with how inquisitive you are about everything.

And there's nothing you don't want to know about. Your main obsession, of course, is dinosaurs. You can spell and pronounce these 15-something letter dinosaur names, rattle off what time period they are from and where they lived, what they ate, what the purpose was of the plates on this one's back or the spines on that one's tail or the bumps above another one's eyes. Going to Washington, DC with you was one of the highlights of this past year for me. I'm not quite as obsessed with dinosaurs as you are, but I'm obsessed with you and so your passions are naturally mine.

Another love of yours is the Solar System. You can list the planets and know how many rings or moons each one has. You feel sorry for Pluto because he's not a planet anymore, so you'll sometimes draw him in on your pictures just so he won't feel left out. But you're quick to tell us that you know Pluto's not a planet.

Let's also not forget to mention your third obsession: the globe. You study your atlas with a serious concentration and constantly ask Daddy how to pronounce some Middle Eastern country's name. You know not to come to me with that kind of a question because I'll never be able to help! You know the location of most of the states in the US, you can point out all of the continents and can point out the Dead Sea and other bodies of water. It's a little shaming to me, because I can't even do a lot of that.

Your hands talk almost as much as you do. You are truly a kinetic kid. You never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever stop moving. Even in your sleep you wiggle and work your way around your bed. I'm amazed that you manage to stay in it every night! And while a lot of the time I wish you had come with a MUTE BUTTON, I know I'd never (OK, very rarely) use it.

Watching you this past year as you became a big brother and moved into that role in our family has been awe inspiring. Very rarely do you get impatient with Benjamin or the time Daddy and I have had to spend with him. You love being the first one in his room in the morning, want to climb into the crib with him, and love that he calls you "Nee Nee!!!!!" (and with that many exclamation points, always). You shine as a big brother - only getting upset when you're not FIRST to get dressed or get your shoes on.

That's a big thing with you lately. FIRST. First in the door, first out the door, first in your car seat, first buckled up, first to get milk, first to get food, first, first, first for everything. I'm hoping that with SIX we'll see a little less of that! I try so hard to make sure you're first for some things but not for everything. You've gotta learn, Bub!

You are strong-willed, compassionate, easy-going, and stubborn. You know what you want and you're not going to back down. But you also want to please the others around you. You are tall and skinny, but you eat like you're never going to be fed again. Broccoli is OK in broccoli and cheese soup, but not any other time. Spaghetti and meatsauce will always be your favorite food, I know. You swim like a fish and don't care that it's too cold to go swimming anymore - you still want to go (until I let you dip your foot in, and then you change your mind!). You love to build with Legos, especially if it means building a zoo for your dinosaurs. You still love to draw and color, and you always finish your homework on Monday night. Phineas and Ferb is your favorite TV show, and we will lay together for hours watching it (hey, it's a funny show!).

Some of my nicknames for you: Toodle bug, Oodles of doodles, Brother, Bub, and Little Man (although that's not very fitting anymore!). None of those are going to stick, I know, but it doesn't matter. Because really, you are just Anthony. And I think that's a pretty great thing for you to be.

Love, Mama