{hands full of happiness}: Last Day of Four

The Darndest Things

C (Explaining to Eli and Si school fire drills): You have to go outside, and you can't talk, because, if you open your mouth, you will get fire in it.

Silas (at the Costco fountain pop machines): I want BEER!!!

Me (while dousing the hot dogs in ketchup): What? Did you say you wanted beer?

Silas: Yes.

Me: It's called ROOT beer, Silas. We don't drink beer. (Loud enough for all to be assured that my 4 year old doesn't drink beer.)

Silas: I call it BEER!

Silas: Mum, you got borned some really awesome kids!

Jared: Silas, come here.
Silas: Me no Silas, me Si-la-guy!

Silas (pointing to bone on the side of his ankle): Mommy, rock. in. my. foot.
Me: It's not a rock, it's a bone.
Silas (incredible distressed): Oh no! Mommy, BONE in my foot!

Silas (when the sun went behind a cloud and the room got darker): Mommy, dark?
Me: Ya, the sun just went behind a cloud.
Silas, very sad: Mommy, me miss da sun.

Silas (At 1:30 in the morning after he has been sleeping terrible due to a stuffed nose): Uh oh
Me: What, is your nose broken?
Silas: Yup, two them broken.

Me (at dinner time): Eli, have you been wearing your t-shirt on backwards all day.
Eli (without skipping a beat): No, but I've been wearing my underpants on backwards all day.

Eli (the first time he sat in his brand new, ridiculously expensive but totally safe car seat): It's like way comfortabler. It's like a pile of clouds I'm sitting on.

Eli: I know why the world turns. It's because the sun is so hot, and the world is a guy, and it doesn't like being so hot, so it turns around all the time to cool off.

Eli: You know that stuff in your eye? It's Jell-o, and it can see stuff. I know, because I touched it.

Eli: There's a skeleton inside my body that talks to me and tells me all the things that are good.

Me: Eli, pull up your underpants, it's not polite to walk around with a bare bum.
Eli: I don't have a bare bum, mum.
Me: What exactly would you call it?
Eli: A person bum.

Eli: Mum, will you button my pants and pull up my...um... bug?

Eli: Silas is such a little "Duke-ter." Me: What's a Duke-ter, Eli. Eli: Someone who eats all the 'Mo' so I can't have any.

Eli: Why is there toilet paper all over the yard. Me: 'Cause dumb teenagers didn't bother to find out if Auntie Phoebe was home or not, and now we have to clean it up. Eli: Grandma's going to be really mad. Let's eat them alive: crush their bones and drink their blood. (I promise, I don't know where he got that one.)

Eli (when I was wearing a dress that kind of makes me look preggers): Mommy, your 'mo' looks ugly when you have sisters in your tummy.

14 June 2012

Last Day of Four

Eli turns five tomorrow. FIVE! I can't believe it. He asked me to knit him a sweater for his birthday, and I went through some patterns with him - showing him the coolest of patterns. Then, as I was knitting away on a super cool old man sweater and browsing Ravelry last night I saw this one:

And I thought, "That's way too childish for me to knit for Eli. I want him to look like a little man, not a dino." And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Eli's going to be a little man soon. It won't be long before he won't want to wear a dino sweater. These moments just seem to be so fleeting.

Yesterday someone asked how old he is, and I quickly answered "four." I'm just not ready for five. He's not a preschooler any more. He's getting so big!!! Just one year ago we were in Victoria going on a treasure hunt for a pirate treasure when he turned four. Eeeek. Can you tell I'm slightly freaking out here?

Well, I suppose it's inevitable (unless someone has gotten a hold of a Time Turner...) so I may as well accept it, I may as well celebrate the occasion with accolades of love for my little Mr. E.

Dear Eli,

Today is your fifth birthday, and I can't believe it. It just doesn't seem like it's been five years since you were placed on my chest in the hospital operating room, and I suddenly knew what it meant to be a mother, what it meant to love. Right from that first moment my love for you was fierce. You were so beautiful, and so perfect, and I couldn't believe how much I could love. It almost hurt.

I still feel that way. We have our moments, moments when I'm not patient enough, not kind enough, not engaged enough, and I'm sorry for that. But we also have moments of total awesomeness! I love when you come into my room first thing in the morning to cuddle, even if you wake up your brothers in the process and start our day much earlier than I would like. I would rather cuddle with you for a few minutes than sleep in any day. I love when you take it upon yourself to take care of your little brothers. You are truly the best big brother, and will continue to be such a good example to Silas and Atticus. They are lucky to have you. I love that you never forget to say prayers. Ever. I don't believe a prayer has been missed in our home for the last two years. And your prayers are always so thoughtful and faithful. I love that. I love how interested in learning you are. You are the smartest 4 year old I know. You constantly ask me questions that I don't know the answer to, like why mosquito bites itch, and if your muscles could move without bones, and what eyeballs are made out of. And then together we get to learn the answers. I love how caring you are. Sometimes I think you care too much; you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. But, that kind of concern will serve you well in your life. Never stop loving others the way you do. I really love how much you love your cousins, aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas. You know what family means, and love every member of yours. Look up to them and be just like them, because they are good.

I love you Eli. While I wish that you could stay little forever, my little smootch, I am proud of the boy you are becoming and hope that you grow up to be an equally wonderful man. There is really nothing more a mother could ask of her son. You are the greatest!

Love always and forever,
Mommy

PS If you want me to knit you a dino sweater once I'm done the one I'm working on, I totally will. I'll do it when you are 18 too, if you want. I love you!