Cooper! You're FIVE! And I'm SO late in writing this!
Let's see, in your first weeks as a 5 year old, you decided you were done sucking your thumb.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
When it arrived 2 days later, you met the mail man at the front steps, ripped the box open, and asked to put it on right away. Not an exaggeration. I don't exaggerate. You accidentally slipped twice, and never again. To this day...I am supremely impressed by this. I've told this story to everyone I know, and no one seems as impressed as I want them to be. I want to say "WAIT! Did you hear what I just said!? He just stopped sucking his thumb on his own free will! A habit he's had his entire life! And he just stopped! IN ONE DAY!" But, I don't say those things. I just keep them to myself. You are five years old. You literally said to yourself "I'm ready now." AND YOU DID IT. I will never, ever forget that. It just shows me how great your strong will can be. You had trouble falling asleep for a few weeks, and we reapplied the "thumb stuff" a couple of times, but that was it. You're officially done sucking your thumb!
You are making such incredible strides! Mommy and Daddy are too! We are all learning how to communicate better, and be more present.
You are in your last year of pre school at Calvary, and you're learning so much! You can now write all letters upper case and lower case, you know your address, and you are learning your last name. You are SO excited for kindergarten. Mommy is not. You will start the first week of August here in Colorado which will be a big adjustment for all of us! I know you will do so great though.
Anyway, for your fifth birthday, we had your first big Colorado party. You invited all your classmates, and had a soccer party with Coach Luke. A lot of kids came, and you all had so much fun! You had soccer cupcakes afterwards, and opened all your presents. You certainly loved being the star of the show, and there were no tears!
Your meltdowns and tantrums have almost stopped. There are the occasional whiney fits and testing, but now you're learning how to be fairly sneaky. So far this week you have opened a bag of marshmallows and shared it with your sister in the 10 minutes daddy left you alone while mommy was at work, you came downstairs early and ate 5 reeces peanut butter eggs for breakfast one morning (and quickly fessed up to it), and most recently you drew on the TV screen with permanent marker...and then quickly remedied it with the magic eraser.
You are becoming extremely independent, and we are working on integrity and trust. You are a huge help to your sister, and love her SO much. I love to watch you two play together. You are always a concerned big brother in the morning when you hear her wake up. You'll go in there and climb in her crib with her. It's my most favorite thing to watch on the monitor. Until you start trying to push her out of the crib in to her laundry basket for a "soft landing".
Five will be our best year yet, I have no doubt. So many changes happening this year! You are so SMART, and incredibly intuitive. You remember things that I don't, from years ago. You love hugs and singing along to all the most current songs on the radio. You love playing outside and with any sort of water. You're starting to sound out letters and words, and will probably be reading soon. Your favorite show is Wild Kratts and Paw Patrol. Your favorite foods are still chicken nuggets, almost any kind of fruit, yogurt, granola bars, and chewing gum!
Mommy is learning how to do this life with you, daddy, and Natalie the best way I possibly can. Our goal for you is that you grow up to be happy, healthy, grounded, kind, and caring. We are doing all we can to help you develop those qualities. You have such a wonderful personality already, I can't wait to see who you become.
We love you SO much, Cooper. I wish nothing but the best for you, always.
xoxo
mommy
