Six

Dear Dexter,

You turned six last week.  SIX!  It's hard for me to believe I have been a mom for that long.

You and Daddy visited the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport the day before your birthday to fuel your ongoing love of space and rocket ships.  The real space shuttle Discovery is there, along with many rockets and other space-related things.  I was not at all expecting that your very favorite thing in the museum would be the Black Bird airplane.  The SR-71, a military plane used for spying and surveillance for many years, holds the record for the fastest flight from Los Angeles to New York City.  One hour and four minutes.  I learned this on Friday when you told me all about your trip.  It sounded like you also enjoyed the shuttle, and the I-Max movie about space.  But maybe not so much the flight simulator.  It was too loud.

The Norman family visited for the weekend and enjoyed a very yummy rocket ship cake, plus a dinner of hot dogs and mac and cheese.  They took you out for dinner at Applebees on Saturday, where you ordered your favorite meal (Kraft mac and cheese) and inhaled it, along with everyone else's french fries and also a hot fudge sundae.  We had a little Super Bowl party with Nonna and Grandpa on Sunday night, watching the Patriots play the Seahawks.  You and Erin giggled hysterically at a Mt Dew commercial where dogs, chairs, pictures, and coats started dancing.  Fortunately we have a DVR so we could watch it again.  And again.  And again.  And again.

You like building things.  Snap Circuits are your favorite right now, along with huge huge LEGO kits.  You have an entire LEGO city on your desk in your room right now, with a hospital and a police station and lots of cars and trucks and a huge helicopter.  You also got a kick out of a magnet kit we got you for your birthday, and you built some fun stuff with Kinnex.  When you are not building, you are reading.  Books about space.  Chapter books.  And it warms my heart that you enjoy the very same Shel Silversteen books that I read as a kid.  A Light in the Attic.  Where the Sidewalk Ends.  The Growing Tree.

Your very favorite thing right now is ROCKET SHIPS.  We made a space shuttle cake for your birthday, and a rocket ship cake the following week.  We read lots of books about space and planets and books that astronauts wrote about being in space.  You told me the other day that when you grow up you want to be a person who works at Mission Control for rocket launches.  I think that would be a pretty cool thing.  Aunt Jeanne got you some bungee cord-launched rocket ships to play with in the back yard.  Best.  Present.  Ever.  We were all thankful it was warm enough yesterday and today to go out to play with them.

You continue to love gymnastics, and it's fun to watch you get stronger and more brave.  You are the fastest fish in the pool during swim lessons, too, and I am glad that your love of the slide has overcome your fear of the sun spots.

At school you get pulled out almost every day for Social Skills, Friendship Group, and Speech Therapy.  Normal kid's parents might be concerned that you miss class time.  We have no such concerns.  Academically you are far ahead of your class mates.  I loved hearing you describe the game "Beat You to 15 Cents" to me today, and hearing you work out how many cents you would have if you had a nickle and two pennies.  You brought home a list of Sight Words that you are supposed to know by the end of the year.  Parents were supposed to look at the words that their kid didn't know yet, so they could work on those words at home.  We've got nothing to work on.  You know it all.  You're reading this blog post, at age six and one week.  We are not concerned that you miss class time.  We want you to learn the things that are hard for you.  How to approach kids your age.  How to have a two-sided conversation.  How to keep calm even when things make you angry.  You've made HUGE strides in these thing in the last year, and I know these things are difficult.  I'm proud of you for how hard you work at keeping yourself "in the green."

Your sister adores you and everything you do.  She loves to repeat everything you say.  She loves to mimic every weird hand gesture you do.  She loves to jump on you in bed.  She loves to demand a kiss from you every night before bed, and then run away giggling with her hand over her butt as you chase her, trying to kiss that very same butt.  She loves to demand a hug from you before school, and she loves to ask you your favorite thing about school when you get home.  When she is sad in the car she often cries that she wants Dexter.  She wants her sister.  (She can never remember that you are her BROTHER).

Happy Birthday, Dexter!  Here's hoping your seventh year is your best one yet.  I love you to the moon and back.  And yes, I know.  You love me more.