Noah Stuff....

It's kind of crazy to really think about it, but the honest truth is, this kid is three days away from turning five years old. FIVE. A whole hand's worth of fingers to hold up.

For some, this milestone age is bittersweet from a parent's perspective... but for me, I'm EXCITED. And in reality, it's kind of a non-event, in that he's been acting five for months now... He's so tall, too. Since the start of the school year, I've just thought of him as already five. 

In honor of November being his big month, here are a few Noah things..... Just because.

These photos are from a few days ago. He is deeply in love with school supplies and drawing, writing, coloring, and his latest obsession: cutting paper.  Here, he has his big ziplock baggie of scraps, his markers, his new turquoise scissors, and he is multitasking--- watching an Avengers cartoon while drawing Superman logos and making a robot.

I love how deep his concentration gets when he is working hard.

I love his beginner handwriting.

I love that a thousand pieces of cut paper scraps become so special to him.

I love that he would rather do this than play on the computer/iTouch.

I love that he wears yellow shirts and that makes him automatically "Bumblebee".

I love his big "guy" feet. They give me ripple-forward-memories of him being a preteen and a teen.

I love that even at the cusp of 5, Old Mai is never too far from him.

I love that he has never been a 'draw on the walls and self and furniture' type of kid.

I love that for the rest of this year, he is still all mine, not yet kindergarten-bound.

*

Another current Noah thing. We've implemented a "ticket" reward system for him. It began when we got him a bike earlier than his birthday/Christmas so he could enjoy it in good fall weather. Rather than just bestow him with a sizable random gift, we gave him the option to "buy" it by earning tickets. Thus, the "Earn a Ticket" page was born. He had to get to 25 tickets to get his bike.

Once the bike was won, I saw the value in keeping this system alive in our home, so I created the second page, the "Spend a Ticket" page, for him to work towards routinely. Both were just handwritten/doodled by me:

   

The idea, for now, is that he is not REQUIRED to do any of those things with penalties attached. We prefer him to pick up his messes and clear his dishes, but there isn't a formal punishment system in place if he fails to do so. But to begin rewarding him as a way to make these behaviors more desirable--- I love that idea. He is on the edge of an age where I think he can, and should, manage many of these tasks on his own, without being

asked. What better way to encourage it than this?

The other fun thing about it is that he gets to start making some big choices: does he spend each ticket as it comes, eating candy only? Or does he begin to see the allure of SAVING and getting bigger, better things?

I'm proud of him--- his first "purchase", after he won his bike, was a notebook/pencil. 5 tickets. And his second "purchase" was a 20-ticket action figure. He is already patient enough to wait for the good stuff. Since then, of course, he's seen the charm in getting a piece of Halloween candy for just one ticket... and he LOVES to hurry and earn two tickets at night, just to trade them back in for 5 more minutes before bedtime (spent, without fail, with his dad, doing guy stuff. So cute!). But he's currently back to saving for a bigger item. He loves this new system, and we are enjoying it, too.

*

It's amazing to me that we've arrived at 5 with this kiddo. That we've been parents for five years. How it seems like just yesterday, we were in love with this little one:

And suddenly, in the blink of an eye, that little face has become this:

 

It's incredible. All of it. And so is my little man. I cannot wait to celebrate him with fanfare this weekend, to ring in 5 Years Old with my Noah.