Dear Dylan, you're 5 and a half!

Dear Dylan,

You're 5-1/2 years old.  You're like a big man now.  You know how to be the man of the house when Daddy is gone.  You find bugs and tell me not to come near because I wouldn't like it.  You take care of them.  (Or keep me away until Daddy comes home.)  One day you found a big spider and tried to make a trap for it.  You asked what spiders ate and I told you they eat insects.  You wanted to go find one but, not realizing that it really was a big spider, I told you to draw a picture of an ant for your trap.  You were so frustrated that you didn't know how to draw a good ant.  I finally went to the corner to see the huge spider!  That was so thoughtful of you to keep me away, but I ended up spraying it and we waited for Dad to come home to take care of it.  You also make sure that you have enough sunscreen, snacks, water, etc when you go on an excursion with a babysitter.  I like that you know how to take charge. 

You love to play "jungle man."  You have lots of things that you use in your jungle forts and areas.  You get Isaac to play along and you boys know how to entertain yourselves for quite a while. 

Your favorite foods are cereal, veggie wraps, smoothies, and water.  When given a choice of food, you often ask me which is healthier.  You choose the healthy food.  Of course you go for the junk when offered and will never pass up McDonald's. 

You are starting to think about body image and want a six pack.  You ask about other people who you think are strong and ask how they achieved their muscles.  You do sit ups and other exercises on your own while counting to ten in Korean. 

You started Tae Kwon Do and are a good listener.  You always sit up and are respectful.  Daddy, Dylan, and I love watching you.  You're the fastest when you do the elephant crawl across the floor!  You come home and love to practice. 

You are starting Kindergarten tomorrow.  I'm anxious for you.  I want a video monitor on you the whole time.  I know that's crazy, but I'll miss you and want to help you and want to make sure your teacher gives you all the attention you deserve. 

You will start piano lessons in a week and a half.  You're not that excited about it because you do not know what to expect.  You like to be good at things or don't want to do it in public.  You're shy at first.  I think it's important to start you as early as possible in as many things as I can so you will get the confidence that you can do anything.  You really can.  You can jump high and jump low (off of high things). 
You are an amazing swimmer. 
You try new things and tricks in the pool. 
You are really good at coloring in the lines.

You still whine some times and I don't like that one bit. 

You are helpful.  If you know a rule, you usually remember and follow it.  You hang up your towels and put your dishes in the sink.  You usually finish all of your food too. 

You can be funny.

You don't take naps much at all.  You will usually be quiet in your bed (or mine if I separate you and Isaac) until you ask if you can clean or color downstairs. 

You're not that cuddly but will sit next to us and will sorta snuggle in beside Daddy and/or me on the couch or on the church pew.

You want to wear your "super hero shorts" every single day.  They're black gym shorts that came w/ a super hero shirt.  You used to wear underwear over them, but now you wear it under them, thank goodness. 

You are serious about growing up to be a jungle man and might live in Africa or the Weeki Wachi River.  You want a red canoe as your transportation.  I told you that maybe you could go on a mission to a jungle some day, but you do still need to go to college. 

You like to watch jungle shows on the animal channel (Daddy turns them on for you).  When it was shark week on the Discovery Channel, you had a night mare.  Sometimes those shows aren't meant for little kids, sorry!  You like to stay up to watch "one more commercial" after you brush your teeth and are in PJs etc. 

You can read, but are wiggly when we're reading books.  You want to know it all right away so sometimes get stuck on simple words.  It frustrates you that you don't know it all right away, but you work through it then are happy. 

I love you so much!  You know how to make good decisions.  I'm excited for all you're learning now!