Happy Birthday my lovely big guy. Today you turn 7 years old and to celebrate we have gone to Disneyland for the weekend. We arrived home from the park this evening exhausted, with aching feet, with several million battery operated light toys, and happy happy happy. You have thoroughly enjoyed spending your birthday here, going on lots and lots of rides and basking in the sunshine.
I write alot about your brothers development in here because he is in that phase of life where there are milestones every 5 minutes (walking, talking, counting, etc) and although you're no longer a baby or toddler who leaps from one developmental stage to another it is fair to say that you still change from day to day. It's just a more subtle kind of change. In the last year since I wrote on your 6th birthday you've grown up enormously.
For a start, you're about a foot taller than you were. Unbelievably big and grown up looking. You've developed a self conciousness that you didn't have a year ago, caring how you appear, what you wear, what is acceptable to be seen in at school. what is 'cool' versus what is 'IM NOT WEARING THAT MOM, NOBODY WEARS THAT KIND OF THING'.
When we moved to Seattle in the Summer it was incredibly hard on you. You felt happy and secure amongst your friends in Canada and the stress of uprooting ourselves really took it's toll. You had nightmares about Daleks for weeks and you seemed to lose a bit of self confidence - we're working on building it up again! You are scared to make decisions or choices incase you get it wrong....... I am not sure what you think will happen if you do get it wrong but Daddy and I are very keen for you to realise that nothing bad will happen! We are trying to help you build some self confidence, and I'm sure alot of it is stemming from the move. You will get over it big guy, do not fear! :)
You did settle down very well into your new school. You love it and often say that you prefer it to your old school and even to your old Montessori school. The work is challenging and interesting and the resources are vastly better. You come home having learned alot every day. You have incredible spelling tests every week where you have to learn how to spell words like 'Chimpanzee' and 'Agreement' and similar. Every week we have a fairly similar routine during which you put off or find excuses for not studying your spellings, eventually panicking at the last minute and deciding they are much too hard and you'll never get them right but eventually knuckling down and learning them in 10 mins flat. Then you come home on a Friday having got 100% on the test.... smart boy!
You're still wonderfully caring towards your baby brother, you adore him and would never let him come to any harm. He idolises you and copies everything you do! You're also still very much my boy, cuddling up to me in an evening, loving me to come and lie in bed with you and chat, wanting me to be the one who comes on the rides with you! Not that you don't love your Dad of course, you do, and one of the things you have been doing together is going to Cub Scouts every week. It's great Daddy & Son bonding time, doing really 'boy' things like building cars and shooting rockets into the sky.
One of my favourite things you said to me this year .... I called you a 'spud' for something silly you said. You replied ' Well you're a lesbian!'. You didn' tknow what it meant of course, but I was crying with laughter for the longest time!
It's impossible to remember everything that you've done for the last year but the most important things are that you've started to grow up, you're growing into a fantastic young man who is loving, kind, smart and funny. Every day I look at you and am thrilled and amazed by you, as I am sure I will be forever.
Love you big guy
Mum xxxxxxx
Happy birthday Dylan!
Posted by: Steve at February 12, 2006 05:26 PMWell at least he doesn't call you a "Mong"
Posted by: neil at February 12, 2006 06:44 PM