Dworianyn Love Nest

Dear Ethan, you are 5!

Oh my goodness Ethan, I don’t know how this happened! How are you five years old? We celebrated your birthday with a blowout reptile party this past weekend so I should be used to the idea but I just cannot believe how fast time is flying by! And while I’m sad that another year has passed by, this has been such an incredible year for you. You have had some really big milestones this year. So before I start crying all over my computer, let’s talk about all of the things you are up to at 5 years old!

First, you are a preschool graduate! You just completed your first year of schooling and you loved every second of it. You were sad that it was only three days a week. When you would wake up on Tuesday or Thursdays and ask if it was a preschool day and I told you it wasn’t, you would always groan and say, “but I want to go to school!” I hope that your love for school and learning new things will continue. You had the most incredible teachers, Ms. Karima and Ms. Trish, and you loved them just as much as they loved you. They loved how incredibly smart, enthusiastic and witty you are. It seemed like almost every day at pick-up there would be a new “Ethan story.” You learned so many new things in your year of preschool, one of them being beginning to learn to read. You are not fully reading yet, but you are doing so well with all of the sight words and small books like the Bob books. You are so motivated to try and read books on your own and I love to see it. We have read to you every day since you came home from the hospital and I think we are seeing how much that has paid off. You are most definitely ready for Kindergarten and you keep asking me if you are starting soon. Let’s not rush the Summer buddy! We have you all registered and have visited the classrooms and met the teachers, you were so excited to see your school. We can’t wait to see you learn and grow even more in the years ahead.

I have said it every year in these letters, but your most favorite thing in the whole world is being outside. You have always had a love of all things nature and it is one of the most treasured qualities I see in you. I tell people all the time that you would live outside if you could. You’re like the postal service, it doesn’t matter if the sun is shining, rain, sleet or snow, you want to be outside. We go on so many adventures and I am constantly looking for new places to explore. I am going to cherish every Friday for the next 15 months because once you start 1^st grade I won’t get to have Friday adventures with you anymore. We will have to save our exploring for the weekends and summertime!

In addition to being outside you still absolutely love any and every animal! It doesn’t matter if it is a spider crawling by, a toad hopping through our yard or a 10 foot alligator you notice it and you want to touch it! You also want to know any and every fact about it. You love animal documentaries. We watched Planet Earth 2 recently and you were glued to the screen to see what animal would be next. In your endless quest to know all about animals, you ask a lot of questions, like a real lot! Sometimes it can be exhausting, but I have to step back and appreciate the fact that you want to know these things. You love to dig in our yard to see what you can find. Your favorite finds are worms, roly poly bugs, katydids and spiders. You and your sister collect them in the many bug catchers we have and you just sit there and watch them. We have found a couple toads as well and it’s like you have won the lottery when we find them! I hope you never lose your sense of wonder and appreciation for all of the wonderful living creatures on our planet!

You and Sofia are the best of friends 90% of the time. You love playing together and she follows you around like you are her idol. She wants to do everything you do. Most of the time you guys play very well together, but there are moments when it is not so good as well. You get bossy with her and order her around (you sound just like me when you do it by the way) and we have to tell you that you are not in charge. She loves when you come in her room every night to say good night and give her a hug before bed. She is going to be very sad when you start Kindergarten this Fall and she will be at daycare by herself. I know it is going to take some adjusting. You are her best friend and she is going to miss you like crazy.

Speaking of friends, my once shy little baby is now one of the most social kids I know. You are definitely an extrovert and I would have never predicted that at all! You have a great group of friends at daycare who love you to pieces. When we would go pick up Sofia at daycare after you got out of preschool, all of your friends would come running and screaming, “Ethan!” and come give you hugs. You made some great friends in preschool as well and luckily your closest friends will be in your Kindergarten class next year. I never have to worry about you going into a situation with new people because you talk to anyone, anywhere we go.

Other activities you have done in the past year include, swimming, gymnastics and track and field. You made amazing progress in swimming and can now swim fully on your own. You went from not wanting to have your head wet at all, to doing freestyle and backstroke! You love the water now which I love. You also did gymnastics and you really learned a lot. The first few sessions were pretty rough, but you really got your bearings and built a lot of strength. Most recently you are taking a track and field class and you really enjoy it. You like running a lot and you think you are so fast! You love racing your sister because you always win, but I’m happy to say I can still beat you! You love going running with me and we’ll have to do more of that this Summer.

Ethan, I could never put into words what an amazing and incredible boy you are and how much you mean to us. You are the most adventurous, curious, funny, smart, caring, handsome little boy I know. You have so many special qualities and you will forever be my favorite little boy in the whole-wide world. I am so lucky to be your Mama. You make us so proud. You are just getting started and I already see incredible things in your future. Dado and I can’t wait to see all of the amazing things you are going to accomplish. We love you so much Ethan Michael!

Your stats:

Height: 49” – still flying off the charts!

Weight: 50 lbs

Clothing size: 7 on top and 6 on bottom

Survey:

We asked you about some of your favorite things right now and these were your answers in your words. (we did this at 3 and 4 too)

Favorite food: Strawberries

Favorite drink: Milk

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite Holiday: Easter

Favorite toy: New remote control truck

Favorite person: Mama