August '09 to July '10.
He is four no more. Today there are five chocolate-frosted cupcakes set out, with five numeral candles; one on each. The fifth has sprinkles just the way he likes.
Today I'll snap a picture of him with his '5' cupcake and likely get an enormous grin like last year. That wonderful innocence is still wildly present. (Hold on to that with all your might little guy.)
This morning while helping him into shorts and t-shirt we shared all the same hugs and snuggles and good talk that we do most days. Today though, was different. Apart from the fact that he was endlessly asking when he could open his presents, and whether I had bought him anything ... today we both have something called school looming on the immediate horizon. We're both excited if a little nervous, in a good way.
This year Marty has become all legs and muscles. He's tall, but still likes me to pick him up from time to time, especially when there are animals or museum exhibits to admire. His vocabulary is amazing, but his pronunciation needs work. He's very into projects and making. Anything involving cutting, pasting, painting, stirring, assembling - he's all over it.
Marty's got his favorite things (soynut butter sandwiches and fruit smoothies), but dinner is not one of them. Does not matter what I serve he consumes nearly all of his daily nutritional intake before the evening hours.
He's been coming into my room pretty regularly in the night lately. Sometimes it's thunder that awakens him, but more often just those regular sleep patterns and he's not able to settle himself back into sleep without my taking him back to bed and a drink of water.
I can't truly grasp that he's changing. I know that one day with every bit of logic in my person I'll be forced to admit that he's bigger. A young man someday, full of promise no doubt. In my heart though a part of him will always be just as he was on my lap this morning: my sweet little wide-eyed, loud, enthusiastic, energetic, happy guy.
