Our family
Gerritt has turned 5 years old today. We had a delightful birthday celebration with our friends & family. 10-month-old Jacob reminded me of Gerritt's baby stage not so long ago. I remember him learning to crawl & taking his first steps like it was yesterday. Life has come full circle again.
Gerritt started pre-kindergarten this fall. He absolutely loves it & even wakes up early on his school days to get ready. I've had to change my work schedule to make it possible for him to attend, so I usually work evening shift at the hospital (3-11:30 pm) on his school days & during the day (at the hospital or clinic) on his days off. Gerritt used to love to sleep in, but now he even wakes me up, "Wakey, wakey! Time to get up!" He loves the whole routine of going to school, packing his lunch, doing preschool activities & interacting with his teachers & new-found friends. He usually has something to show me when I pick him up (a drawing or a craft) & we have the ritual of sitting outside to talk about his day & to admire his artwork. He often pleasantly surpises me by the things he learns (e.g., table manners such as "not reaching across," "helping an old lady with her grocery bags," how to position himself during an earthquake, etc).
Gerritt & Jacob awaiting guests
Our little princess ready to celebrate
Right after turning 5 Gerritt announced he wanted to sleep with Daddy. We shared bed together since he was 2 & after 3 years together it was difficult for me to let him go. However, I've been anticipating the Daddy-loving stage & wasn't surprised. Sophia, who slept with Daddy since she was an infant, was more than happy to replace the empty spot in my bed & get her fill of Mommy time. Thankfully, Gerritt slept with Daddy for only a week before he started to miss me again. Out latest sleeping arrangement involves the kids alternating nights between my husband & I.
Gerritt is really into the Angry Birds computer game so his favorite birthday present turned out to be a set of soft toy angry birds. Sophia & Jacob were more than happy to take over Gerritt's other presents such as a set of musical instruments, a set of racing cars, large paper & a set of finger paints & wooden blocks.
Best buddies (most of the time)
Gerritt favorite pasttime activity involves coloring. He colors almost every day & doesn't get tired of it. He asks me or Daddy to print coloring pages for him (mostly Angry Birds & Mario Brothers) several times a day. Gerritt learned to write his first name recently so he puts it on all his artwork. He also learned to make "books" at his preschool so he illustrates several pages & comes up with a storyline (usually a funny one). He then asks me to write the story down on his colored pages & then tape them together in a book pattern. Daddy's job is to read the stories as soon as he comes home from work. Gerritt loves transformer toys & often plays with them before going to bed. Once I found Gerritt playing & laughing with 3 of his favorite transformers & the sheriff car from the Cars cartoon & asked him what he was doing. He replied, "I am showing the transformers to sheriff. They are talking about something funny!" :-)
"Look, angry birds!"
Gerritt & babushka
"Are you going to stay home all day today, Mommy?" is Gerritt's usual first question of the day upon waking up in the mornings. He is happily relieved if the answer is yes. He is sad if I tell him I will stay home for another hour, but will have to go to work after that. He will then say, "Can you stay home for 5 hours & 10 hours, Mommy?" I proceed to explain that I have to go & take care of the "sick people." Gerritt usually responds, "Let Ms. Irina [our nanny] take care of sick people. You stay home!" Sometimes he'll say, "Will you give the sick people vitamins, Mommy, & make them feel better?" Gerritt loves me & wants to spend as much time together as possible. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Happy birthday, Gerritt! It is so rewarding to watch you grow up.
The aftermath
