October 2016 is going to go down in my history as the month I fell behind in just about every possible way. Ouch...
It's also the month my BABY turned 5. Wow wow wow!
It's no secret how much I love 5 year olds. I think its the coolest age. I love that I get to "do" 5 again, one last time. And if Beckett holds true to form, this time through the 5 year old stage will be bigger and louder and just a bit over-the-top. That's Beckett. Loud and crazy and fearless.
I admit that I kind of dreaded going to talk to his pre-K teacher last week for his parent/teacher conference. You see, more often than not, he comes home with some tale of getting in trouble or getting talked to or having to sit out of some activity. He's really very honest about it. When asked how his day was, he's very likely to say something like "well, the morning was not so good, but after nap I was really good." Turns out that my fears of speaking to his adorable (and very young) teacher were all for naught. Yes, she told us of his discipline challenges. She's still trying to figure out how to get him to listen when his hard little head feels like he shouldn't need to do what she asks. BUT she said she's not worried about it. She told us that he's the clear leader in the class. The kids flock to him. They watch him to see what he's going to do. They follow his direction and let him help them with instructions or explanation of rules. He is never alone when he's in class.
And he has a girlfriend! WHAT???
None of this is particularly surprising, I guess. It's very much how he acts at home. You simply can't out-will him. (Ask my dad.) If he doesn't want to do something, no amount of warnings or threats will change his mind. You can yell. You can plead. You can try to reach his sense of obligation or guilt or fear. None of it works. He'll do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it.
That is not to say that he runs the house (mostly). He follows the same rules the others do, but we have long since learned to let him get to the same points at his pace. No sense driving ourselves crazy trying to get him there faster.
One of the most interesting things about Beck recently is the relationships he's formed with people he meets through his brothers. Beckett truly considers some of Spencer's friends to be HIS friends. When one boy stopped by the other day, Beck ran from the other room and launched himself AT the poor unsuspecting 14 year old. As Beckett clung to his mid-section and Ozzie barked at this poor kid, I just looked at him and said "Welcome to our home". LOL He invited another of Spencer's friends to come to his birthday party. (The 5 year old equivalent of exclaiming deep love and respect.) I took Beck to one of Quinn's lacrosse practices the other day and he spent nearly the entire time playing - like really playing... running/jumping/laughing - with one of the dads of one of Quinn's friend. Now we have known this man for years, but not well. To Beckett, they were best buddies and he did not care that this guy is 40-something years his senior.
Speaking of his seniors, Beckett continues (in my opinion) to be the luckiest of the 4 brothers. He always always always has someone to play with. More often than not Zane is the playmate of choice. Those two have a really good relationship. They play with their imaginations. They play physically. They fight appropriately. They share. The laugh and giggle and love. Watching them together is one of the greatest joys of my life. Truly. And when Zane is doing something that Beck doesn't want to do or isn't interested in, he goes to find Quinn. No one can get Quinn playing (real play, not video game nonsense) like Beckett. They have many wars and battles and run all over my house. My house is very loud. I imagine (because I didn't have any older siblings) that Quinn is just about the perfect older brother. He's old enough to get the milk out of the fridge, but still a kid at heart who doesn't mind being silly. And then there's the oldest/youngest relationship between Spencer and Beckett. That one is something special - from both directions. Beckett thinks Spencer walks on water and hung the moon. He's a warrior who happens to live in our house. You can tell by the way he looks at our oldest that he's soaking it all in. He idolizes most of what Spencer does. And Spence, in return, loves that child. There's no competition with him like there is with the other boys. He wants Beck to excel and exceed. He lets Beck climb on him and jump on him and fight him. And as Beck soaks up the attention you can practically watch his self-confidence and self-respect grow. Beckett is one lucky boy to have all those other dudes living right in his house with him.
This is the year for Beckett where he really stops being a little baby. No more toddler. He's not really a pre-schooler anymore. He is rocking out the pre-K world and getting ready to kill it in elementary school. This is the year we will put him on a big yellow school bus (finally saying goodbye to day care checks) and send him off. I know from experience that once they get on that bus, they don't look back. Given Beckett's outgoing personality and high level of self-confidence, I have zero concerns that his transition will be anything but smooth. This is the year that he will get to put on pads and play tackle football - which he's DYING to do. This is the year he will likely learn to read, to ride a bike, to swim without a vest. This is the year we will get to know more and more about his own little personality, which I think is going to be a pretty fun one. Those stereotypes about the last-borns being natural entertainers are pretty true. Nothing makes Beckett happier than making other people smile.
I can't wait to watch my littlest Bovy boy this year. I can't wait to experience this year with him. I wish him the happiest (even if it's a week late) of birthdays and hope he knows how very loved he is. Happy Birthday Beckett!
