I can't believe that sweet, tiny newborn who made me a mother when he arrived on the scene is now FIVE. One whole hand! Liam has undergone a real transformation in the past few months. I don't know if it's because of our move, because of his new school, or just the normal course of his development, but he has matured so much. He understands more, articulates better, remembers more, asks better questions, tells jokes, has witty comebacks, is a better negotiator, is more empathetic, can concentrate for longer... the list goes on. Across the board, in every domain, I think he's made recent strides. This year he also learned to swim and ride a bike. And he tried skiing, ice skating, rock climbing, and playing soccer on a team all for the first time -- and did great with them all. But the very biggest change I've noticed in him lately is his willingness to try things. He used to be shy, hesitant, and worried about exiting his comfort zone. But now he seems to embrace a new challenge. He's more confident about interacting with new adults and kids and seems more sure about his physical capabilities. All this new found comprehension lucidity, and confidence has some interesting side effects though. My naive little boy who wanted to try on tutus and was excited to paint his toe nails has vanished. Liam now has very clear ideas about "boy things" and "girl things" - ideas I try to challenge on a regular basis, I might add. But nonetheless, for better or for worse, he has become aware of many societal norms. He also gets embarrassed when his hair is sticking up after getting out of bed and has started showing a preference for some of his clothes over others (something he had never cared about before this year). He does not talk about school and, in fact, tells me straight up that he does not want to talk about it right now. And then often follows that up with "Are you sad?" Liam is also acutely aware of emotions. He often interprets Nora's feelings or motivations for me, he identifies when someone needs help (recently he made Carol get out of the car to help her elderly neighbor when he saw the neighbor was trying to take the trash out on her own), and he has started articulating his sadness about Jason being gone during the week (it's sad that he's sad, but it actually helps that now he can talk about it and understand more because I think it helps him process it).
All of this is to say that I adore and marvel at my amazing, growing boy. Jason, Nora and I love him to the ends of the Universe and back and we wish him a happy, happy, happy fifth birthday!
Liam is Five! from NMPH on Vimeo.
No comments:
Post a Comment