Five and a Half

Benjamin is now five and a half. He's the very youngest in his kindergarten class, but you wouldn't know it. He's bright, average height, and socially on target. 

Here's his picture day shot after I grilled him all morning about smiling for the photographer. Cute, but obviously insecure. 

So I casually asked him if he wanted to go back on re-take day. He consented, and I'm so glad he did. This is the Benjamin I know and love.

Benjamin is a very good boy. Yes, he's possessive. He's also crazy competitive and wants things his own way a lot of the time, but he really wants to do the right thing, and I can see that more and more these days. Last month, he wrote this letter all by himself to Santa. (post edit: I did open up the Target website for him to copy out the toys he wanted- he does not know how to spell "Samurai" correctly on his own!) My favorite part was the line "I sinc I bin good," pronouncing the "th" in "think" the way he does out loud. It was just such an honest line. He obviously knew he'd made a lot of mistakes this year, but was deep down really trying to be good. 

This week, we've had packages from aunts and uncles and Grandmas and Grandpas piling in, overwhelming the tiny circumference of our fake Christmas tree. Benjamin has kept careful count each day, and finally decided to write an amended letter to Santa. Honestly, this is what he wrote:

Santa,
We really have too many presents. Please don't bring any presents.
Love, Benjamin

Melt. Yes, you may have whatever you most wanted on that Christmas list! It is sort of ironic how just last week I was writing how infuriating the boys were being, and how Santa shouldn't come...It must have been his obsession with the straws, since I haven't had to use the toy time-out box at all since then.
So lastly I thought it would be fun to do a little questionnaire with him again. Here it is with his responses.

1. What is your favorite color?  Blue.

2. What is your favorite toy?    Legos. I mean, Iron Man stuff.

3. What is your favorite fruit?    Oranges.

4. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?    Rings and meatballs.

5. What is your favorite outfit?    My fuzzy pants and my Lego Star Wars shirt.

6. What is your favorite game?    Chess...no, Angry Birds!

7. What is your favorite snack?     Nutella and pretzels.

8. What is your favorite animal?    Polar bear.

9. What is your favorite song?    Joy to the World.

10. What is your favorite book?    My Lego Ninjago book and Iron Man and Spiderman.

11. Who is your best friend?     I play with Timmy at school, so I like Timmy.

12. What is your favorite drink?     Orange juice.

13. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?     I like sleeping with my cuddles (his blanket) and my monkey and my Santa hat.

14. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Crepes. 

15. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? I want to go to McDonalds.

16. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I don’t know yet. Maybe go to [Daddy's company] or maybe I’ll grow up to be a Baseball player. 


I sure love this little guy. Even if (and perhaps, in part because) he isn't quite so little anymore.