Eliot at 5: bad guys and unrequited love

He is 100% boy. He's constantly watching for bad guys, usually wearing a super hero costume.

He dances when he's hyper (including one he calls The Fancy Dance).

He yells that he wants to punch stuff even when he's not mad. Punching is a show of affection for him.

He loves watching sports, playing sports and wearing sports related clothing.

He has 8 million matchbox cars and action figures and plays with the majority of them for hours at a time.

He wants to play baseball when he grows up and drive a car with a cool spoiler. Because all cars with spoilers are race cars.

He thinks cool shoe laces make him run faster.

He still giggles.


He laughs/cheers at Dez's every move, every accomplishment.

He's still crushing on the same girl from pre-school, even when she "tells on him" for asking her to marry him. He bought her Hello Kitty chocolates for Valentines Day since Hello Kitty is her favorite. He hangs his coat on her hook because it drives her crazy. (enter nature vs. nurture conversation, RussellMohr) He calls her "Sweet Cheeks."

"We" have a stick collection outside the front door. Right next to our rock collection.

His skills are evolving across the board. Because they're all so new, they're exciting each day. Every time he reads a page, hits the ball, sounds out a word when spelling, etc.

"Stupid" is still the worst bad word.

Saturdays are awesome but not because he's off school, but because our family is all together.

Snuggling and reading with mom is still fun and a good reason to stay up late.

When Eliot yells "Dance Party" it's mandatory you participate. His jam is "Pray" by MCHammer. Yes, yes it is.

There's still remnants of mispronouncing words. Guatemole instead of guacamole, ya know, stuff like that. We've instructed all teachers to leave them alone.

He often takes surveys, usually at meal times that start with, "Raise your hand if you___". (if you're eating carrots, if you like blueberries, whatevs.)

(I've apparently been rocking the top knot often...)

6 is right around the corner and it's killing me. The more grown up he's getting, the more amazing he's becoming. Russ and I are slightly obsessed. As is Desmond. I was reading my journal from early 2006 when we'd accepted a referral only to find out it was a miscommunication and that child wasn't available. We were crushed and discouraged and couldn't imagine what could be ahead of us that would be worth all the trials to get there. The next available referral was this fuzzy blob:

Turns out God knew what He was doing...