NOLAN is SIX

Dear Nolan,

HAPPY SIXTH BIRTHDAY! You’ve let me know that you are so excited to keep growing and getting bigger while I sit here with tears in my eyes because I cannot believe how fast time is flying.

You’ve had a wonderful year of growing, maturing, and learning so much about so much. Your brain, my dear boy, sheesh. It is always moving, always going, always thinking, always worrying. Just last night, I had to lay in your bed with you for a little while because you couldn’t sleep. This morning you told me you were thinking about TV shows and movies and books and sports and that all kept you awake. On the subject of sleep, you went through a difficult period during this year where you had a very hard time falling asleep. Daddy and I were honestly getting nervous. Every night we would have to go in your room several times to try and help your mind rest. We started using essential oils, having ocean waves on a noise machine, doing yoga and classic music before bed, and massaging your temples as we did visualization and breathing exercises. All of that was well and good, but the thing that made us most worried was that you would begin RELYING on all of these things. You thrive so much on routine and predictability that we did not want all of these tricks to become things that you NEEDED in order to sleep. Thankfully, kindergarten started and with it came an exhaustion that I have never seen from you or Judah and sleep has been coming much more easily. The massaging your temples while doing visualization exercises seems to help the most and so we will do that on occasion when your brain is too active at night.

You see, I was able to rattle off all of those strategies because we have so many tools to try to help you. You are SO similar to Daddy and me. We are worriers and thinkers so we get you and therefore have lots of tools to support you. For that I am grateful. 

School suits you and you LOVE it. You excel at everything you try and work super hard to learn all that you can. I look forward to you coming home each day to show me all the things you created and made during your free choice time. While others are playing with dinosaurs or playing pretend in the play kitchen, you are writing books about our family, drawing art with price tags to sell at a gallery you hope to make or create tickets to a stadium you hope to build with your Magnatiles. You have your teachers in stitches with the questions you ask, the things on your mind, and one liners like when you went up to a kindergarten teacher at recess one day in the fall when it was super hot and you said, “You know what I’d like to do? Go all the way to Antarctica and bring back ice.” You would be perfectly content to spend all day talking to adults, honestly. I am certain every teacher knows you.

You continue to like things that way you like them. You like the play with the same friend/s, you like to sit at the same table, and you like to do the same thing at recess each day. Sometimes this comes off as a tough bossy- we are working on that…I know it’s just you trying to find control and order where you can in your world. I may have been described as bossy a time or two in my life as well ;)

A hope I have for you is that you continue to branch out and put yourself out there! I think new friendships and new classrooms and new routines are always going to make you nervous and a bit anxious and it's hard for you to be in a new situation- you aren't quite sure how to act. But, people need to see you- you are one of the most considerate, thoughtful souls on this earth. You live your days getting such joy out of saying just the right thing to make someone’s day or drawing a picture to help someone feel better or asking how you can help. I have saved note after note after note that you’ve made me telling me how much you love me. I think you understand that showing people kindness is really important, but I don’t think you understand yet, just what a HUGE impact you can make in this world with your ability to think about and care for others.  

This year, sports are your THING! You love to watch them, talk about them, analyze them, and play them. You are intensely loyal to your favorite teams- MSU, The Big 10 in general, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, etc, but are somehow also a fair weather fan who will change who you are routing for on a whim if you like their uniforms or the score changes a lot. You will play anything. You’re especially digging basketball right now and have just began to play it with some first graders at recess, which is a HUGE social step for you. You know what else has been your thing this year: Disney World. You learned everything you possibly could about Disney World before we went and are continuing to learn long after we’ve returned. Sitting next to you on a thrill ride was amazing. You literally screamed out, “This is awesome!” over and over. You’ve conquered some fears several times this year- thrill rides, climbing up to the top of the lighthouse in St. Augustine, etc. You are so proud of yourself after you do something difficult… as you should be.

You love life… you really do. You are ready and game to do anything, try anything, experience anything, travel anywhere. Your positive energy and excitement really rubs off on us all. We love your joy. Happy Birthday, my oldest boy. Bring on six!

I love you with my whole heart,

-Mama

PS --> I asked you what you wished for in your sixth year. You told me you wanted to get better at basketball and then decided that you wanted to just get better at every sport... we will see what we can do about that ;)