This is Five.

stories and snippets from the frontlines of age five.

60 months

Child 1 (girl)
Volleyball.

Climbing, jumping, riding bicycle (still on training wheels). Climbing is a way for her to…do something she’s good at, quietly, but knowing people are watching, with the ability to either acknowledge their watching her or…not.

Paper dolls (drawing and coloring with me)
Sounding out lots of words…close to reading!
Frequently accessorizes with a purse.
Loves swimming, still needs life jacket or flotation.

Still not too old to reach up and take a hand - my hand, her mum’s hand, a trusted uncle’s hand…love and never want to end.

Child 2 (boy)
Has the greatest pronunciation-drawl-enunciation as he relates stories and anecdotes about happenings, real and imagined.

Frequently ends up with his shirts on backwards.
Sometimes enjoys tennis, or at least holding a tennis racket and imagining it’s something more than what it is.

Exploring and collecting new sticks and swords.
Toys he’s into: my old G.I. Joes.

Child 3 (boy)
Loves to get up early and draw
Loves, loves the snow and will sled til the cows come home
Enjoys building wood blocks and making things look pretty

Child 4 (boy)
Being with his older brother. Doing everything together. Main activities: LEGO building by the trillion, drawing, reading, hunting for praying mantises and crickets at the height of heat (20240906)

Our niece X———

Into dresses - princess, pretty, twirly ones. 202501

61 months

coming soon

62 months

coming soon

63 months

Child 3 (boy)
Conscious of comparing portions of things with others, e.g. food servings. Is their serving bigger than mine?

The last week or so, he’s started…enjoying having me lay by him at bedtime again. Still wants his Mum holding his hand and bedside…but has let me know he saved a spot for me on the other side.

Goes so hard. Every day.

64 months

coming soon

65 months

coming soon

67 months

Child 2 (boy)

We stop at Steamboat Landing for what was supposed to be a short bit…but then ended up spending two hours fort-building. He was in bliss.

His excitement and zest for living, building, inventing, discovering…I love so much.
Home for G.I. Joes (his obsession du jour). February 22, 2016

68 months

Child 3 (boy)

Swimming. Pools, rivers, oceans, lakes…started swimming independently this month! (Aug 2022)

Looking for crickets and insects and creatures and admiring different types of flowers and grasses

PBS Kids - Word Girl, Word World, The Odd Squad

69 months

Child 3 (boy)

Things he wants to do over the holidays together: go shopping and get a drink and go exploring for things, like gold things and stuff. also, find treasure, have hot coca, look for streamers, and collect a lot of things in the forests, “…a LOT of things, that’s all.” (Nov 28, 2022)

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