The Negotiator....

For Cole's 5th birthday, he got a 4-gallon BiOrb fish tank and got to pick out two fish for it. I had done intense research (of course) about the various tanks. I had to weigh in several factors including the major one which was the limited space he had in his room for it. I was drawn to the Baby BiOrb (the picture above is it but not Cole's specifically) for its aesthetic appeal and I had read a ton of reviews about its ease of cleaning which knowing I'd be the one responsible for this task sealed the deal. It had room for decorative features and a cool subtle nightlight which would allow Cole to watch his fish once lights were out each evening.

Gigi and Pop Pop were in town for his birthday and were witness to Cole opening up the box the day before to set the tank up and fill it to allow for the water to filter for 24 hours before bringing its new occupants home. We headed off to the pet store the next day and we learned a lot in 20 minutes about what types of fish worked well together, what ones didn't grow much, which ones did well in cooler water and which ones had a relatively longer life span. Cole picked out two Platys and named them Duggan and Scout (he couldn't come up with names so he asked mom for help. Both of those names were on our list when we tossed around monikers for Tucker years ago).

We allowed Duggan and Scout to acclimate and also set up a heater for the tank learning that the water had to be around 70 degrees. We keep our house 60-65 degrees during the day in the winter so not having a heater wasn't an option. Cole's new friends were bit sluggish the first 48 hours and I kept anxiously checking on them but the shock wore off and they were darting around by day 3. Cole was very excited to feed them each day.

Sadly on day 18 (3 days past the pet store warranty), I found Duggan at the bottom of tank. Duggan was fine at 4pm but not so by 6:30pm. I always thought deceased fish floated to the top and then learned that they sink initially. "Oh boy", I thought when the reality of the discussion that was forthcoming flooded my brain. I softly told Cole that something had happened to Duggan. The look on his face as he raced into his room brought tears to my eyes. I told him that Duggan had died and that we needed to get him out of the tank. He ran from his room, with tears running down his face. After putting Duggan in a cup, I went out to Cole to comfort him. He said he wanted to bury him and I explained that Duggan loved the water so it might be better to flush him. Cole yelled out "no, mommy, he'll go to where the poopy goes". I wasn't sure how to reply to that so I just said "well buddy, yes technically that is true but he'll eventually make it out to open water". We waited for Dave to come home and Cole didn't want to be there for Duggan's "ceremony" so quietly Duggan went.

I had told Cole that we could get another fish as he was worried that Scout was lonely. So we headed back to the pet store two days later. On the car ride over, Cole began peppering me with "hey mom, can I get two more fish?". I said "no, we just need to replace Duggan, okay". I could see him pondering my response carefully as I glanced at him in the rear view mirror. As we pulled into the parking lot, he pipes up "so, Mom, I think we need to get two more fish because what if Scout needs to take a rest and the new Duggan wants to play. If I had three fish then someone would always want to play. So what do you think about that!?"

We walked out with a "new" Duggan and his pal Henry. :-)

Twas the Night...

I love that Cole has embraced things about the Christmas season (other than the promise of gifts)that are more meaningful.

We started doing advent calendars when he was three and each year he gets so excited to hang it on the refrigerator and wake up each morning to open the daily "door". It is the FIRST thing he does for those 24 days.

He also is enamored with the magic of our Christmas tree and much like me, loves to turn off the house lights and sit in the chair admiring the simple white lights of our tree. This year he was very much wanting to make his own ornaments and giddy to hang them.

During the holidays, we also find Christmas books and stories to read on our weekly trip to the library. This year we took out a fantastically illustrated edition of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". We began reading it days after Thanksgiving and by mid-December Cole knew the story verbatim. He wanted to "read" it to us each evening and one night as he began to recite in his lilting voice, I captured it on video.

Half a decade!!

My little pickle is growing up. He turned five on December 6. To think he has been in my life for half a decade is really quite astounding! The years certainly seem to be passing more rapidly than I can keep up with.

Cole had a great birthday weekend with a party at THE WORKS with 8 of his friends; this place was a hands-on kid's engineering museum for his age group. GIGI and POP POP were in town for the fun as well as for his birthday fete at Montessori and birthday dinner at Salut, sparklers and all! Cole got a 4-gallon fish tank and some new friends for it as his gift from us.

It was a terrific few days of celebrating. He is already talking about his party "when I turn six". As a kid you always want time to go faster, as a parent, all I want is for time to slow down.

Farmer's hours...

Cole has ALWAYS needed less sleep than the average kiddo. He has his great grandpa Roger's genes it seems! As far back as his wee early days, Cole has just been go go go! He had colic for four months and would cry all day, luckily my only saving grace was that he did crash hard when he finally decided to and to this day this holds true, he goes full throttle and then BAM.

He has also ALWAYs been an early riser. From ages 15-32 months, he was up between 4-4:30 am every morning! Dave and I tried everything but Cole was awake and ready to start his day. We took turns getting up with him so the other could sleep, however, after years of this schedule, my brain is now hardwired to Cole's hours and despite my body's desire to crawl back into bed, my brain is firing at the same crazy hour. Cole at five years old still arises all chipper and wanting to play way before the sun comes up, it is an odd morning when we get beyond 6am.He dropped naps altogether around 3 years old though without fail he will still fall asleep in the car in the late afternoon and on the boat, the motion lulling him into dreamland.

As for bedtime, that has always been a bit of a struggle as well despite a structured routine. He just can't get his mind to slow down. After quiet time reading books for 15 minutes each evening he is still revved up. He moves and shifts and kicks and is in and out of the covers and rolling this way and that way. We can hear him shuffling around and have to typically lay with him for some time to ensure he settles down.

One night recently, he came out into the hallway and says to me with exasperation "mom, how do I make my head sleepy?" As I scooped him up with his tired eyes he goes "I counted sheep like it said in my book but I got to a hundred million already".

I know someday I will be beating on his door to wake him up as he misses the school bus, sleeping as a teenager will but until then, my little farmer remains.