Dear William George,
Every time I have contemplated the approach of your fifth birthday, I have done a mental double-take, to kind of mentally check the math. As cliched as it is, how is possible that you are turning five today? How is it possible that you will begin K5 next month? We know that once school begins, your life will seemingly accelerate very quickly, and it will seem as if you are on a treadmill, zipping through the school years. After all, your sisters are entering the fourth grade and that has certainly been true for them.
Accordingly, now seems like a good time to look back over your birth story, your toddler years, and your preschool years to lock in your preferences, proclivities and habits. Going all the way back to the day you were born, your favorite song initially was You Are My Sunshine, and you locked eyes with me knowingly in the operating room when I sang that first song to you. A close second was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and that was the most requested song from your first through third years. You also loved to read your child's Bible, and your very favorite story was the story of Jonah, followed by Noah's Ark and David and Goliath. Now you love to hear about Jesus.
Goodnight Moon from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.
You went through a very brief Elmo phase, although it was limited to a Christmas special that we watched thousands of times when you were 18 months old. After that you loved Little Einsteins, Cars, and Planes. Your very favorite of all time is Scooby Doo - the vintage episodes, the movies and the recently released Scooby Doo Incorporated.
You love anything and everything transportation related. Your first love was the airplane, followed by helicopters and trains. Your Poppa took you to the airport regularly to look at the planes, and you went to the Museum of Flight on your third birthday. You also are fascinated by all cars and trucks, and you can identify them on the road. You can spot a Dodge Challenger from miles away. You love the racing-banned Superbird and have a couple of those in your car collection. Your favorite thing to do upon waking (and you always get up early) is to drag out your cars, and then you bring the extra Superbird to dad and ask him to come play with you. You have hundreds of cars, and when you are allowed to purchase a new toy, you spend considerable time in the toy section of Target, carefully considering possible new additions. You take your toys very seriously, and you are a very careful shopper.
You love Snoopy. Over the years your collection has grown to maybe 25-30 different Snoopy's, but the original is your obvious favorite. You take Snoopy with you everywhere. (You also still love "cloffie," but that can be our little secret.)
(Both of the above photos are of you after a near-loss of Snoopy.)
You also love sports, especially football. PawPaw taught you to raise your arms and yell "touchdown" before you were one year old, and you and he would often exchange the "touchdown" sign throughout dinners. You run plays in the house, often slamming into walls, and you wear cotton, fitted pajamas as your uniform. You have worn holes in the knees from your many "catches" and slides across the rug. Gran found an Alabama basketball uniform for you, and you live in that thing. You wear it at least three days each week, and you even wore it all day Christmas Day this year because Santa brought you a new football and you needed your uniform. Speaking of grandmothers, you are the apple of Grammie and Gran's eyes, and between charming them and your sisters, you love women and flirt constantly.
You are also a big hit with guys... of all ages. It is not uncommon for you to fit right in with teenaged boys, and you even made good friends with a couple of college freshman last year. You are a guy's guy, and you're very social. However, you shy away from the spotlight. In K4 this year, you preferred to navigate "star student" in low key fashion, and you did not want to celebrate your birthday. Further, we have had to carefully put together this year's birthday because, although you want to celebrate, you don't want anything "too big".
Probably your very favorite thing is music, and you had an affinity for certain artists from a very early age. You have gone through our entire inventory (barring some inappropriate selections) and are always eager to add new music to the library.
Finally, you love to read. You read through tons of preschool books, and now you are going through chapter books quickly, often wanting to read the entire book in one sitting. Currently, I read to you, but you are picking up words quickly. You love geography and can label all 50 states, as well as the continents of North and South America. Obviously, you're a smart boy, but you're also curious and committed. As with your sisters, we love watching you think, learn and figure things out.
William George, we love you so much. You are the love of Lauren's, Grace's and my life, and you are your father's best friend. We love you tremendously.
With love and adoration,
Mama
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