Noah turns 5

Eating his fave: chocolate with chocolate toppings.

Noah turns 5…and goes to kindergarten. How did it happen so fast??

Of course I'm super excited to have one less child to schlep around with me all day long, but of course I'm also super sad about letting my first baby go. He has been in half-day preschool for a while now, and he even had that one year in full-time day care, but this time he's not just going to be physically away all day. I feel like it's his first step towards life on his own (am I being too dramatic???), and I know that's a good thing, and that's what we want for our kids, but it is still hard for me to think about it without getting weepy. I actually missed his birthday yesterday too, and every time I or someone else mentions the birthday, I start tearing up. Peter re-lit a few candles on the cake leftovers and we sang happy birthday Noah again, but really for me, so that made me feel better - only even more teary because of the sentiment.

I haven't written much about Noah here on my blog in a long time, because it is so much easier to write about milestones and whether or not a child has hit them. Now he's like a real person and it's harder for me to capture. Noah is really something though. He can be so sweet, dependable, and loving - and then whiny, bossy, and irrational 5 minutes later. He loves his sisters, and even though he's fighting with Sarah every other minute, if someone else crosses Sarah he'll be there to punch him/her in the face. Literally. And then I am mortified, again. He's always looking out for Lydia by trying to feed her, give her baby-safe toys, steering her away from dangerous things like the stairs and toilet, and in general letting me know when she's about to get into some dangerous situation. I'm interested to see how this relationship will develop as Lydia gets older!

Watching a movie together.

They love putting their chairs out and having snacks like this.

Noah currently is obsessed with super-heroes and light sabers. I think he has a deep need to see justice carried out, and these stories of good guys beating the bad guys just really resonates with him. Maybe it helps him find some sense of security or something, since he's kind of an anxious little guy. I think he's also really into the alter-egos because he can be very shy about expressing himself. And light sabers, well, who doesn't love light sabers, right? I don't think there's a cooler weapon to fight bad guys with! Noah loves non-super hero books too, and in general loves reading and being read to. I just hope he'll keep loving books as he gets older. I may be a math teacher, but for some reason I am so much more invested in developing a love for reading in my kids. Maybe I just take it as a given that they'll love math and science.

That's all for now. Next post will be pics of me following the bus next week. :)