I genuinely didn’t think I’d be writing another birthday update within a national lockdown, during a global pandemic, but here we are! T is Six! Our boy is 6!
The past year has sort of been a bitter-sweet experience for us. Whilst T’s spent another year not being able to do some of the things we had planned for him, we’ve been able to experience other things, that we wouldn’t have otherwise chosen to do, instead. For example, during school closures (there was more than one!), we were able to really see how far T has come academically by being with him as he learnt. We’ve done more cooking and craft at home, and we binged watched a lot of Marvel and Pokémon!
Not much has changed, in comparison to last year, which is down to not being able to get out do stuff. We’d rescheduled LEGOLAND, but that’s now been officially cancelled, and it’s unlikely we’re going to be going to Camp Bestival this year. But, as we keep telling ourselves, this too shall pass.
There’s always next year, but it pains us so much that by the time he’ll get to experience some of the things that he should have experienced during the ages of 5 and 6, he’ll be 7 – which is a MASSIVE leap both developmentally and personality-wise. Who knows what he’ll be into by then or what he’ll be like as a person.
For his birthday this year we decided to treat him to a few of his favourite things. He’s also taken an interest in trying ‘new’ things, so we made him a sweet hamper with random sweets he’s never tried before. Oh. And some Pop Tarts. Throughout the day we watched movies and played console games. Then later, we went out on his new scooter that we’d treated him to for his birthday. It’s a bold purple scooter that goes splendid with his bright green bicycle helmet!
It was a really nice day, and T being T he didn’t expect anything more. He was just happy to be eating cake (a Poke-ball one at that!) and sweets shortly after breakfast.
The past 12 months
Without dwelling too much, we’ve spent the past year making the most out of our 5-year-old. He’s changing so much, from his language to his personality. One day he’s playing with trains on a daily basis and the next there’s a layer of dust (and Bakugan!) on the box. He’s already saying goodbye at home – rather than at school – and likes being in his own company. He will often taken himself off to his bedroom for some “peace and quiet”, as he puts it.
He’s also losing teeth as if they’re going out of fashion! So far, we’ve lost six and he’s got his front four teeth already in and coming down fast.
He still adores LEGO, trains and his collection of Hot Wheels. But now he’s REALLY into Pokémon and other anime, comics (especially Marvel, and ESPECIALLY Spider-Man and Thor), and gaming. He’s still quite partial to an afternoon of den building, and don’t get me started when it comes to bike riding. I can’t believe how confident he is on his bike now.
T is incredibly funny and has recently moved into the realm of jokes. His favourite being knock-knock jokes, although he still needs to practise his joke-telling! He also loves pranks and general slap-stick comedy, and of course fart jokes and balloon popping. He regularly give himself a tummy ache through laughter.
As well as his humour, he’s also still one of the kindest, gentle and most generous people you’ll meet. He likes being around people and having a conversation, he values friendship, and he HATES the thought of upsetting someone or disappointing them. He’s a very proud person, too. Although – like his mummy – he’ll have a number of ‘projects’ going on at the same time. He takes each one very seriously.
Speaking of conversation; the questions! My goodness does he ask questions. I thought last year was the year of the questioning, but this is another level. Before, he’d ask what something was or how it worked, now it’s all about words and what certain ones mean (and why!). Sharon and I will be talking about something at dinner and he’ll interject later to ask what one of the words meant!
School
Just like last year, schooling has been quite turbulent. When the schools properly re-opened in September, everything went back to some sort of normality. This is where T got to meet his new teacher and officially start Year 1. But, with only six months worth of solid school education in his bag, we had to get him back into the swing of things.
EMBED: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE1Ao3YlKRG/
Don’t get me wrong, T loves school though, from making new friends to learning new things, but he can get quite overwhelmed with a general change in situation. This year, he welcomed a new classroom, a new teacher, and a mixed up class (they do this in Years 1 and 4 so that everyone gets a chance to meet new people and not remain stagnant) it was bound to cause him some anxiety. This resulted in lots of energy at the end of the day and then tears by bedtime. His concentration levels would often fluctuate and he’d sometimes make some bad decisions during and after school. Nothing terrible, but enough that would warrant a few stern looks from his teacher.
We’ve got there, though. He still has a few ‘distracted’ days when the classroom is particularly noisy and distracting – this was quite prevalent after our last full lockdown ended and the children returned to school – but he’s learning how to cope with this.
That being said, he’s coming on leaps and bounds when it comes to learning. He’s an amazing reader – I still can’t get how our baby is reading hundreds of words now. His handwriting is coming along nicely too! I find it beyond cute when he spells something phonetically that’s so wrong it’s almost right. Don’t ask me what I think about phonics!
His strongest point though is maths, and it blows my mind when he puts two numbers together and he just has the answer. He’s doing way better than I ever did when it came to maths! Nothing seems to phase him about it.
We’re so proud of him and what he’s achieved so far.
Next year
This year we’ll see him enter Year 2 at school, which is beyond comprehension. How has he already completed two years at school already. T’s growing up so fast I can’t keep up!
Every now and then, when we’re putting him to bed, we start to see our baby disappear and instead start to see this young lad appearing. It’s both exciting and heart-wrenching at the same time. Even more so when he no longer asks for a night light or is no longer watching his previous favourite TV shows. His clothes appear to be shrinking at a rate of knots and he most certainly has his own style – although he’s still partial to the occasional fancy dress!
That being said, he still loves a good cuddle on the sofa and there have been times when he’s fallen asleep on our chests like the old days. I’m hoping we still have a few more years of cuddles and kisses left.
