It's Awesome Being 5

Our little guy is about to turn six.  As he finishes up his time being five I take a step back to, if not look through his eyes, at least view him from a wide angle lens.  Since this is a baseball-themed blog, here are the baseball connections.  We named him Cooper Wrigley (for Cooperstown and Wrigley Field – no I did not have to get my wife drunk to agree to this, it was her idea).  We have him signed up for soccer and t-ball.  And now I bring you the joys of being five.

**  During his last game of soccer he was doing well dribbling the ball and scored a goal.  Then just before the game ended with the action right by him he stretched out his arms parallel to the ground and started spinning around.  The ball rolled right past him and all the other players ran to the other end of the field while he twirled around.  After the game I asked him what he was doing.  He said, somewhat exasperatedly, “Papa (I love it that he calls me Papa), I was a Ninja Turtle!  I was fighting off the bad guys.”

**  He will out of nowhere identify if a day is great or not.  “Papa?  When I get home can I have marshmallows?”  When I say yes he responds in an excited voice “This is the best day ever!”

**  At 11pm when we’re trying to get him to relax and fall asleep he’ll ask “I want something to eat.  Can I have a hotdog?”

**  Occasionally when he’s done doing his thing in the bathroom he’ll walk down the hallway naked from the waist down.  I’ll say “Dude, where are your clothes?”  He will look down, embarrassingly smile and say “Whoops!  I forgot!” and run back into the bathroom.

**  While my wife and I are in the kitchen making dinner he will walk up to us and let out a roar.  We’ll ask “Are you a monster?”  He will look at us like we must be nuts and say “No!  I’m a Seratops! (triceratops)”

**  He has embraced the music of my wife (Maroon 5) as well as myself (Straight No Chaser) and happily sings along to both whenever we drive along in the car.

**  His video and television tastes range from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers to Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony.

**  While watching those videos he can be laying quiet as you please on the couch when all of a sudden he will leap up and race around the family room and kitchen acting out a chase scene or race or battle on the screen.

**  And at the end of a long day, he will come over, push my leg down that’s crossed over the other one, climb up on me, put his head on my chest and say “I want you to hold me.”