More Than A Year Later

Holy cow.. its been forever and that just goes to show I am such the slacker.. or we could go with the better sounding version of "i've been very, very busy".  Which, is true.. life has been busy.  A five year old is very busy! I still wonder how people with more than one child do it and I continue to applaud them with high regard.  I practically lose my mind half the time just trying to maneuver the ups and downs of every day life with one child, plus being the only girl in a house full of testosterone... well, you can imagine my woes.

The last time I wrote anything was back in November 2010. Thats practically a lifetime ago and a million and one things have happened since. I couldnt even begin to recap it all because surely I'd forget to mention at least half, if not more. And thats where I feel super guilty for not being as diligent as I once was, keeping up with this blog.  I suppose I'll start with the basics and whats fresh in my mind:

Khai is about to enter Kindergarten in approximately 6 weeks. Thats real deal elementary school, people!! That means, my baby, is officially going to be a "big kid".... and just yesterday he made sure I knew this.  Far too many thoughts have been going thru my head thru the year, with this new venture he's about to embark on.  Often I kind of just tuck it away.. the whole idea of 'if I dont think about it, it doesn't exist" kind of thing. But as the months get closer and closer and eventually start turning into weeks and then eventually just a few days, the mix of emotions start to really come on strong.  No more baby, no more toddler, no more little anything.... which of course is a total exaggeration, but do you know I love talking to him on the phone because its then when I can still hear the little kid voice versus the big kid? Its still so tiny and cute and makes me want to pinch his cheeks and melt...   I know..he's just five..  but he'll be six in a few months..then seven....then eighteen... then.. oh god...


Onto other things before I find myself crying or having a mild anxiety attack.
So this kid can read now.  What?!!  I can't even take credit for it. Credit totally goes to my mom, who seriously, in ONE day, sat this boy down with Dr. Seuss and had him reading Mr. Brown Can Moo.  I was blown away!! My baby could read!  From there he started reading other Dr. Seuss books and now, he's starting to figure out how to read with expressions (exclamation marks, question marks, etc) versus a monotone read.  Dr. Seuss books are such the classic perfect beginner books (altho seriously, I dont know if I can take ready Wacky Wednesday one more time.. its one of his favorites and good grief, I need some variety! haha).

Lets see, what else. He still loves his hair long, despite protests from his dad and a few others. I really love his hair just the way it is, and so does he and as far as i'm concerned, if this is how he likes it, this is how it'll stay.  And frankly, I don't see him (at least right now) as a short hair kinda guy.  He's got such beautiful hair, I'm completely envious.

He can shower on his own now, he can get himself ready for school (although this requires lots of coaxing and redirecting because lets face it....who likes getting up at the crack of dawn and getting ready for work or school?!) , he can get himself snacks from the fridge and pantry, and he can even use chopsticks (to some degree).  He's a total charmer of the ladies of all ages, and it completely makes me proud how polite he can be and how he has to hug ever single classmate and his teachers, every single day when we leave school. 

With all this positive stuff, of course there is some negative... nothing out of the ordinary and I really believe all just a part of growing up.  The tantrums..oh boy.. his dad would say that he gets that part of his personality from me.  The sassy attitude, foot stomp, evil eye.... followed by the big hugs and loves.   Flip flop, flip flop...   Pfft, I really dont know what he's talking about.   He's a little shyer than some of his peers but I have faith that he'll come more out of his shell once he gets into elementary school. In fact, he really isn't that shy once he knows you - at that point - and that point usually comes within 5-10m of knowing you - he doesn't shut up. He's a huge chatter box, which I constantly try to remind myself to appreciate, because I know these moments wont be forever and soon enough I'll be looking back wishing he was still such the chatterbox (you know, when he's like 16 and thinks he's too cool for the world).  Geez, now all I can think about is him at 16...  my head is spinning....   his brother is only 11 and already acting 16 and its scary to think thats practically tomorrow for Khai. It came upon us so fast with Carter.  Just yesterday he was Khai's age and now he's got the headphones on full blast, the eye rolling, barely paying attention to what i'm saying mode going and I swear its enough to make you feel old. Since when did cranked up headphones bother me?!

Family Trips -  Khai and I were able to take an awesome trip to Canada in October 2011, to visit Jen, Nev, Cooper and Stella.  That was a trip five years in the making! It took forever to get to that day, then flew by so fast and I would give anything to go back in time and do it all over again.  This was the first Khai/Mommy trip ever, and I loved that experience.  Growing up with a Foreign Service career mom, I took countless trips with my mom. This Canada trip brought back that nostalgic feeling and it was very special to me to be able to have that kind of adventure with Khai.  Heck, that trip deserves its own post, which I promise I will get to.  But let it be said that it was one that we will never forget, and some of the very best people we know and love. For life Hawk!! ;-)

4th of July week, 2012, the whole family went down to Smith Mountain Lake. Which, we do try to do every year.  Khai is still a little intimidated with trying new things, like getting on the jet ski, or jumping into the lake, but hopefully by our next trip down he'll have overcome that a little.  We were able to get him on the jet ski for about 15minutes or so before he completely freaked out.  The lake, he did get in but was mostly in a panic mode the entire time - although I know him, he was just as scared as he was excited.
He did great in the pool and I tried to work on swimming with him - he still is afraid to put his face under water.  But he was extremely psyched to be able to stand in the pool without assistance this year - last year he didn't reach the ground. 

You see, I told you I couldn't recap much - altho quite a bit. I really am just kicking myself right now.... I'll try at best to back post some photo highlights. :-)