Bits and pieces of life...: Auggie at 5.5

Auggie! Naturally, he is one impressive kid. He excels at school--he loves practicing writing at home and will even do it without me telling him how to spell various words. His S's are occasionally flipped, and sometimes an "r" turns into an "n", but he's so motivated!

Auggie goes to Pre-K on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. There are 11 other kids in his class and he adores his two teachers. Since he has such a small class (two kids moved away mid-year) they are a tight-knit group and he considers all of them his friends. Auggie loves his school, and especially loves being the Star Student. This involves me bringing the snack, but the best part is that he gets to bring something for show-and-tell, be the head of the line for the entire morning, and holds the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Physically I think Auggie has Dan's build--a lean muscle machine. :) Yesterday the kids were pretty squirrely and out of control during the afternoon. They had too much energy. After Dan got home from work we all went for a hike. We weren't planning on being gone all that long, but one thing led to another, and we didn't make it home until two hours later. Guess who hiked--uphill and downhill--the entire time? Oh yes, Auggie did. No complaining, either! I think two hour hikes may become a mandatory part of our summer. Auggie is also a great climber, but he prefers bouldering to being roped up for taller climbs. Something about his headgame, I guess. Being roped up kind of freaks him out, but I'm sure that's mostly him being a 5-year-old more than anything else. Regardless, he loves going to the bouldering gym and getting high off the ground so that he can have a good crash onto the mat. He also rides his bike like a pro. No training wheels ever (thank you, balance bike), and he's been on it for more than a year. Occasionally he'll even mountain bike in the Open Space.

We all got helmets for Christmas!

Mentally, Auggie is right on par. He asks me about the difference between asphalt and concrete runways; he wonders about different types of aircraft and explains the types that he will build one day; he wants to make the main road near our house part of the Interstate and plans to do so when he grows up; he knows that he may not always be bigger than his brother, but he will always be older; he knows that he will be taller than me before he is a grown-up. Auggie asks all kinds of interesting questions during our drive to school. Just this week we discussed molecules--what they are, what they're made of, what they build, etc. And during our hike yesterday he asked if his heart has eyes so that it can see Jesus. That was a tricky one, and I tried to explain that the phrase "eyes of our heart" is a metaphor--and had to explain what a metaphor is--but I really struggled to verbalize the meaning in 5-year-old terms. I explained anatomy and that our anatomical hearts do not physically have eyes, and moved on to feelings and spirit.. Yep, it was a tricky one..

I think the molecule questions came from watching The Magic School Bus on Netflix. I heart PBS. :) Auggie adores watching The Magic School Bus and dreams about watching it daily. Daily or weekly TV time depends on the week, but I do try to keep it short. Auggie calls Ms. Frizzle "Ms. Grizzle" which I think is hilarious.

Working on our raised-bed gardens

His imagination is naturally wonderful, but does occasionally drive Eland and me nuts. When playing in the backyard Auggie will insist that his Cozy Coupe car is electric and hence doesn't need gas. When Eland fills his tank with fuel anyway Auggie sometimes ends up in tears. Or if Eland doesn't follow the road signs (ie. chalk lines on the patio) Auggie gets equally frustrated. I often end up telling him that Eland's make believe is not always the same as his and so he doesn't have to follow the same rules. It's still frustrating, but only 20% of the time. I'd say that 80% or more of the boys' playtime together is highly productive and lots of fun. ... Besides playing outside together, they also love playing Legos together and lately have gotten into making books from construction paper. After lunch today Auggie asked how to spell "Illustrated by" for his latest book.

It's electric, boogie-woogie-woogie!

Auggie still speaks with a South African inflection. I hope that never goes away. He refers to car hoods as "bonnets" and trunks as "boots". Pickup trucks are still "bakkies" (pronounced "buckys"). He is certain that he will one day marry Nora--most likely the ceremony will take place on an Airbus A380--and live in South Africa or Minnesota. (I remind him that he and Nora can decide when they are grown-ups if they want to marry, and however it does or does not work out is okay. ;)

Our last day with dear buddies William and Nora before they moved to Minnesota. Tear. :(

Auggie warmed my heart last Thursday while we were at the zoo. The boys were playing in the outdoor jungle gym--not unlike the mesh climbing things with multiple levels that you can take kids to in the winter in the Midwest. Anyway, Auggie and Eland were climbing together, but Eland couldn't make it up the structure that they were climbing. He was just too short. Rather than leaving him behind, Auggie helped pull Eland up through multiple climbing levels so that they could both go down the slide. For however much these two know how to push each other's buttons, they also love each other dearly.

Even though the future is still far, Auggie knows that he will one day be an A380 pilot--or maybe he'll fly 747s. I'm not sure the specific model matters too much yet. And he might design new airplanes, too.

Auggie and his prized possession, his Lego cargo jet

Closing thoughts? Auggie is an inquisitive kiddo whose mind is constantly churning. Dan, Eland, and I adore this loving, sweet boy, and are all amazed at how big he keeps getting!