Month fifty

Dear Henry,

We visited Santa Claus and ordinarily this isn't all that noteworthy but, oh holy Zeus, how you have grown, dear boy! Your legs almost touched the floor and you just seemed so grown up. It's a oft-used statement but, seriously, kids grow up so fast. I'm happy for that for the most part. It is incredible all the things you can do now that you couldn't do even three months ago. But there's a small bit of me that laments how quickly this is passing us by. Pretty soon, you'll be starting real school, and then middle school, followed by high school and (hopefully*) college. You'll be out of my hair in no time. But back to your Santa visit, we went on a weekday at opening time far in advance of the actual holiday so we had Santa pretty much all to ourselves. He sang you a song, gave you a candy cane, and you told him that you wanted a fork lift this year. (Last year it was a garbage truck.)

You dance with complete preschooler abandon, kiddo. It is very cute. I also hear you from time to time singing songs. Some songs are from CDs we used to listen to all the time while in the car, some must come from school (they have that sort of school vibe to 'em), and the rest are completely made up in your head. I sort of thought you had missed the boat on singing but, like most things, you take your time and do it when you're good and ready.

It would be unfair of me to not address how much things have improved since last month. We are still firming entrenched in the "f---ing fours," but we are happier now that you are getting some sleep. Yes, we have, with approval from your favorite doctor, started giving you Melatonin to help you get to sleep. This has been fantastic. You used to struggle so hard arguing, even as your eyelids drooped and your body sagged, that you were NOT TIRED. And it used to be quite a struggle, not really to get you to stay in bed - that wasn't all that bad - just to stop talking and lay quietly for a few seconds so that you could succumb to sleep. With the help of a sleeping aid, you nod off when we're reading you your bedtime stories, and on more than one occasion you've admitted you were tired and ready for bed. What a switch that has been. Alas, nothing is too perfect. The side effect of using Melatonin is that you wake up most nights between 2a.m. and 4a.m. and you are starving. We're trying to mitigate this unintended consequence by making sure you are well fed before you fall asleep.

You helped your cousin Mia and friend Avery celebrate their fourth birthdays, continued climbing and swimming, and played a lot. Also, running continues to be a favorite. I'm pretty sure it's going to stay with you for a lifetime. You will often request to be let into the hallway just so you can run from one end to the other over and over again. It's quite handy to have such a long hallway when in the midst of winter when it isn't always possible to head outside to burn off some of that incredible preschooler energy. I think this month I have to thank you for hanging in there with us. Last month was a bit traumatic for us all but we're turning things around. And even with our difficulties, we still love you all the way to the moon and back, Bean.

Love,
Mama

*You claim now that you don't want to go to college. Instead, you say you want to live with papa and me for "hours".