Four...again?

This is a good one. Okay, maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was good. A little background first. Eric recently turned 5. Maybe we built it up too much. We sort of used it as a bribing opportunity to give up certain behaviors. He still likes his "blankie", which never leaves the house now but, when it did, perfect strangers loved to tell me that they/they're son or daughter/grandson or granddaughter or some random person still slept with their blankie as adults. Thankyouverymuch. (Neither Ross nor I ever had a blankie - that we remember). Anyway, when in the presence of his blankie, Eric's thumb seems to unknowingly gravitate toward his mouth. This doesn't usually happen to 5 year olds. Anyway, there are a lot of rites of passage and responsibility that go along with turning 5. It's a bit mind boggling. (ha! I almost said...er, typed mind "blogging"! HA!)

Anyway, to digress even further (sorry, but I find it necessary), right before Elyse was born, Eric was switched from a 5-point harness booster car seat to a regular booster seat that uses the seat belt strap. It was hard for him to reach to buckle the seat belt himself. Well, I finally decided it was time he learned how to do it himself (and he is HUGE into doing things himself) so I helped/showed him how to do it. It was a bit of a struggle the first few or 7 times, but he has mastered it quite well.

Now, back to the original story. (Finally, eh?!) Today, after a fun filled day at gymnastics camp and a haircut (not to mention wandering around the toy store, because the hair cut place is IN the toy store) we head back to the car. The car that has been sitting out in the sun on a 100+ degree day. I mention these facts because it all has a lot to do with the state of mind of a 5 year old who wakes up by 6:00 a.m. everyday. For some reason, the seat belt thing was not going well. He was struggling...and frustrated....and hot...and not wanting help...and he said "oooohhhhh, I'm 4 again!" I couldn't help it. I laughed. It took me by surprise. "It's not funny!" said Eric, a little loudly. But it was. I'm sorry. He will laugh about it one day. I hope! I guess buckling the seat belt is something only a 5 year old can do!

Just in case you're curious...I told him it was okay and to ask for help if he needed it. He finally did, although very begrudgingly. As I reached back (with a straight face, mind you) to help, I heard the "click" of the seatbelt. Yeah! He got it on his own and we both giggled. All was good. And he's five. Again.

I know I haven't mentioned Sweet Elyse much lately. She doesn't say a whole lot yet. She does mean a whole lot, though! She is the light of our lives. She totally lights up at the sight of any of the three of us. If she hasn't seen one of us for a bit, she is very excited when she does. She gets her big, open-mouthed grin with the adorable dimple on her right cheek and that irresistable giggle. She adores her big brother and seeks him out whenever she hears his voice. He, in turn, loves talking to her and entertaining her. I wonder how long that will last! It will be interesting to see how her personality develops. She can be very vocal when there is no attention on her or she is bored (as in shopping). However, when she is being held upright and fully viewing and participating in the world, she is as happy as a clam! We adore our little "sweetsy". Eric loves her so much he wants more babies. I wonder how he is going to accomplish that - ha!

p.s. I didn't suck my thumb as a kid, but my best friend did. She used to like to twirl my hair and suck her thumb while trying to fall asleep (when we had sleep overs). Hmmmmm....we were old enough for sleep overs, and she was sucking her thumb. I better not tell Eric this story. Okay, BFF, how old were you when you stopped sucking your thumb???!!!