Appearance
Edmund is looking even more like a boy and less and less like a small child. Over this past year, his face has thinned out even more. His cheeks are still quite round (sorry, you had no hope based on your genetics), but even less than before. He still has his smooth pale skin, although it has a constant farmers tan for part of the year since he always is outside with a shirt on to prevent him from burning (again, pale skin). He even swims with a swim shirt on. He has heart shaped lips, and big brown eyes framed by long dark lashes. The color of his eyes is beautiful. They are like a two toned caramel and look almost like a marble in the sunlight. He continues to be long and lean with slender limbs and a muscular trunk. He has expressive eyebrows that show how he is feeling, like his mother. He squints his eyes when he is being funny, smiling, or being stinky. He has a long slender neck (also from his mother) and his hair comes to a little peak at the back of his neck (like his father). He has light brown hair that has gotten thicker, and he finally has sideburns. He likes to smile when he is sitting around thinking to himself, so he often looks happy, which is a change since he rarely smiled when he was little.
Personality
Edmund's personality has changed quite a bit this past year. While Edmund can be quite shy and serious, he has become incredibly social. He is much more social than he has ever been. While he is fine playing by himself and being independent, we have seen him really turn a corner and crave interactions with friends and family. He loves making up stories and telling us about things that he has seen. He can often be heard running over to our neighbor's house and talking her ear off about something that happened, like when the power went out. When playing by himself, he has started singing to himself and having dialogues with his toys. He used to never sing. He has become so much more creative in his play, with his trains having friends. The role he plays the most is Jesus and the soldier with his brother. They reenact Jesus dying on the cross. Lately, they have been playing Mary and baby Jesus where Edmund is Jesus. Mom heard Edmund exclaim that he was hungry and that he wanted to nurse. Mom assured him that baby Jesus could take a bottle instead of trying to nurse on his brother (Mary).
Edmund loves to do things. He used to be fairly content hanging out at home, and he still is. Every morning he asks mom what we are going to do today. He is always very excited when there is something planned. He loves going anywhere - the grocery store, target, the park, COSI, the zoo, the mall. He gets his own list at the grocery store and he gleefully gets all of the items on it. He also loves riding the tractors at Home Depot, looking at the flowers in the garden center, getting a paint sample card, looking at the light fixtures, water fountains, and bird houses. At target, he always wants to smell every candle in the candle section. He also loves traveling in the car on long road trips, which makes him so easy to go places with. He spends most of his time snacking and dreamily looking out the window or reading books while in the car.
Edmund has a strong stubborn streak. He stands firm when he wants his way, which can be challenging. We have encouraged problem solving and giving alternatives to bad choices. While he still doesn't always select the right choice in the heat of the moment, he can tell us what he should have done instead. He also is great at coming up with solutions for problems. He is persistent which allows him to work on things much longer than we would expect for his age. We have been trying to teach him tools for settling himself down when he is upset. He knows that he can go into another room, snuggle with his blankie, take deep breaths, blow out his fingers as birthday candles, or go have some quiet time in his room. He sometimes acts out and when he does, it shows up at hitting (typically his brother) or yelling stop and holding out his stop hand.
Edmund has become more adventurous this past year. He has always been quite cautious. He continues to push himself (with encouragement from us) outside of his comfort zone in ways that we have never seen before. He puts his face under water while swimming, which never would have happened a year ago. He sleeps without a lamp or a nightlight. He climbs any tree he can. He recently learned how to climb the bradford pear by bringing his fire truck next to it and climbing on top of it first. He goes WAY too high for mom and dad's liking, at least 20 feet up in the air. He now loves jumping on trampolines, while just a year ago he was just starting to not sob while being on one.
Edmund is curious. He is always asking questions about tons of different topics. He has been very interested in heaven, what happens when people die, the life cycles of insects, how tractors work, the rain cycle, anything to do with planets and nature, fireflies, and honeybees. We try expose him to new ideas, answer his questions honestly, and encourage him in whatever interests him. He has the mind of an elephant and remembers much of what we tell him. This past week he told our neighbor that he wants to have a bee hive and he needs to get three kinds of bees - a drone, a worker, and a queen and that he is going to put a glass door on their hive so that he can see inside like he was able to at the farm. Every time he sees a tree, he has to see if there are nests in it. If there are, he will do whatever it takes to see if their are eggs in the nest. He found three robin's nests in our yard this year and we were able to watch the baby birds hatch and grow.
Edmund is a helper. The fact that God created him to want to walk beside others and join them in their tasks continues. He loves to help with whatever we are doing. And rather than just helping, we require him to be responsible for different tasks. He has chores he gets to choose from a list each week. Some of the things he is responsible for are cleaning up his toys, watering the plants, sweeping the kitchen, dusting the living room (when we actually dust), getting food off of his own list at the grocery store, picking vegetables in the garden, getting the mail, shoveling snow, mixing the salad dressing and other ingredients for making supper, and putting laundry into the machine. He gets a small allowance each week, not because he does chores, but because he is a contributing member of our family and we hope to teach him about saving and giving (he has to give away at least 10% of his earnings to whatever charity he wants). He has been able to purchase a few items from the dollar section at Target and he gave some of his money to one of the helpers at MOPS and to the Children's Hospital at Panera. He got a wallet for his birthday and he loves storing his money in there and looking at it to see how much he has.
Edmund is a child of structure. He really does his best when in a routine, so we try to keep our pillars in the day, sleeping and eating, at around the same time. We eat lunch at 11 and supper when dad gets home, between 5:30 and 6 pm. Naps are at 2 pm and bedtime has been pushed back to around 8:30 pm. Edmund actually knows when these are and will remind us when it's time to eat. He still does not remind us when it is time for bed. When he eats, he always drinks his milk first and then eats his food. He wants to have milk in a certain cup and water in a different cup. He wants the same bedtime routine and insists on everything having its own place. He has become a bit more flexible in the bedtime area, though, now that he has to share a room with his brother Nathaniel. It was a circus for a while with neither boy falling asleep until really late, so now we put them to bed at 8 and 8:30. They are typically asleep by 9:30 at the latest, but they both will hen nap for an hour to an hour and a half in the afternoon.
Edmund is artistic. This boy loves to draw pictures and create things. We are always amazed at the details that he puts in his drawings and the stories he tells after he has made them. He loves drawing pictures of nature and tractors. Dad is almost always in his pictures and sometimes Nathaniel. Mom he says is inside making dinner or taking care of Clara. We suppose that is real life most days. Recently he made a book of the seasons. It only took him about 15 minutes to make it, but it was sweet to see what he thought each season looked like. He typically draws with pens. He does not really like to color things in, but prefers to freestyle draw pictures.
Another large developmental milestone for Edmund this year was he graduated from his second year of preschool. The program was for four year olds and was three days each week for 2 hours and 45 min. We can not say enough about how much we love his school and the program. They follow the A Beka curriculum. We love that the program is Christian based and the class was quite structured, which we felt worked really well for Edmund. There were also lots of opportunities for Edmund to have free play, free reading time, and open gym time. A few things he learned were 8 bible verses, how to spell and write his name, some basic Spanish, basic reading and phonetics. It also gave him the opportunity to listen to other authority figures besides mom and dad, which greatly helped him in other settings, like swim lessons and zoo camp. He made friends that we had over on play dates and was invited to birthday parties, which was fun to see. He is still pretty shy at school, but he likes to talk about the different kids and tell us about his day, especially what he had for snack.
Edmund will attend a final year of preschool in the fall. There are a whole host of reasons that we chose not to send Edmund to kindergarten. One of the main reasons we chose to place him in preschool again is socialization. We do play dates, library time, going to the zoo, and other social activities, but compared to the girls in his class, we can see a big difference in social development. He has one of those pesky end of July birthdays that means he is either going to be young or old for his grade. Another reasons is that the culture where we live is that most families hold their summer boys back until their are 6 to start prsechool. With that in mind, we thought it might be better for him long term academically and socially to have one more year to grow. Plus, it means a little more time with mom. No need to rush, right?
Loves
Here are things that Edmund loves at five. It's interesting because many of them are the same as the things he liked at four. I suppose much of his personality is starting to solidify.
Songs - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, You Are Holy (Michael W Smith), The BIBLE, Sing a Rainbow, Ready Set Go (from VBS), Me Party (from the Muppets), Can My Honey Come Back (Moby), Anything by Coldplay
Food - Strawberries, Raspberries, Chicken, Hot Dogs, Pasta, Olives, Bacon, and Popsicles
Shows - Blues Clues and Daniel Tiger
Books - The Bible, Ian Falconer's Olivia, Anything Berenstein Bears, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog (Mo Willems), Anything Eric Carle, Blue Clues Books, Anything new from the library, early reader books from the library
Cooking - Stirring eggs, Making pancakes, Making salad dressing, Measuring anything
Activities - Playing outside, Climbing Trees, Gardening, Playing at the park, Painting and Drawing, Snuggling in soft blankets, Watching Blues Clues or Daniel Tiger, Reading books, Playing with kinetic sand, Playing music with dad, Play with brother, Playing in water, Baths, Building with trains or magnatiles, Pretending things are string trimmers, Putting together puzzles, Watering plants
Sayings - I'm gonna sold you! (when he is upset, because that is what soldiers do. they sold people), I want X, and THAT's it. You see me, I am putting out my stop hand.
Toys - Basketball, Any musical instrument, Digging with Shovel and Pail, Tractors, Pool, Water Table, Sidewalk Chalk, Puzzles, Bike
Other Likes - Splashing in puddles, Hitting things with sticks, Snuggling with mom, Having is back rubbed, Playing in the rain with umbrellas, Going places - library, zoo, and science museum are his favorite. Anything farm related (especially loves going to Slate Run Farm, and more recently going to Stratford Ecological Center). He told mom he loved a girl in class. So it begins... Bugs, but only lady bugs, butterflies, lightening bugs, earwigs, and worms. Catching fireflies at night.
Dislikes
Here are things that Edmund is not a fan of at five:He is scared of dogs that bark. He hates loud noises, He does not like thunder storms. He is afraid of smoke detectors and our house starting on fire. He is scared of the power going out.
Words that he says "cute"
*bwahnihwa for vanilla
*bertiful for beautiful
*teetend for pretend
*when counting, he says "or" and "ive" for four and five, although he says them correctly if he just says the number.
*has a minnesota accent - says bag and boat and melk just like his mother.
*nust and nut instead of nest and net
Monthly HighlightsAugust - 4 years, 1 monthEdmund attended his first day of preschool for the year. He was in the green frog class and had Ms. Becky for his teacher, who was his assistant teacher last year. We took a trip to Slate Run Farm where Edmund got to milk a cow for the first time. Mom and dad finished building the boys' new playset in the backyard. We took our summer vacation to northern Minnesota with mom's side of the family. Edmund loved spending time with his cousins, throwing rocks in Lake Superior, and seeing Gooseberry Falls.
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| first day of preschool |
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| farm boys |
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| new playset |
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| milking the cows |
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| vacation to minnesota |
September - 4 years, 2 months
With the beginning of fall, we went apple picking for the first time. We also had play dates with friends and hung out at home after a busy summer.
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| apple lover |
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| we dress ourselves |
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| playdates with friends |
October - 4 years, 3 months
Edmund finished swimming lessons and passed his first class. We went to the pumpkin patch with Edmund's preschool and Edmund got to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Edmund helped pick the last of the blueberries from our berry bushes. We took a final trip to Indiana before the baby was born. We got to go to the pumpkin patch there and climb on the tractors. We went to the apple orchard with uncle Ryan and Ms. Christine. Edmund dressed up as Charlie Brown for Halloween and Nathaniel dressed up as Linus. The boys got to dress up as frogs for Edmund's Noah's Ark party at preschool. The boys got to pick pumpkins out of our garden to carve for our front steps for Halloween. We took another trip to Slate Run Farm to enjoy the fall color. We also attended the fall festival at Edmund's preschool, where Edmund got to ride rides and eat cotton candy.
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| passed swim lessons |
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| pumpkin patch with preschool |
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| e and his pumpkin |
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| the last of the blueberries |
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| driving the tractors |
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| more apple picking |
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| apple picking |
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| halloween as charlie brown |
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| fall at the farm |
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| carving pumpkins |
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| noah's ark party at preschool |
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| fall festival |
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| trick or treating |
November - 4 years, 4 months
This month welcomed the birth of Clara Rose. Edmund is now a big brother again. We mostly hung around the house, so Edmund enjoyed playing in the leaves, eating Thanksgiving dinner with our family, and taking care of Clara.
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| leaf lover |
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| new big brother |
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| holding baby sister |
Edmund loved playing in the snow and beat the winter blues by playing with his brother indoors. He loves art projects. He sliced his finger chopping carrots for dinner and almost had to get stitches. He enjoyed a little bit of summer with the smores maker grandma and papa mailed him.
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| painting |
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| roasting marshmallows |
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| snow lover |
February - 4 years, 7 months
Edmund celebrated Valentine's day with a party at his preschool. He made his own monster valentines and valentine box. We built a snowman in the front yard to greet dad on the way home. Edmund loved helping dad make beer and drawing pictures.
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| valentine party |
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| monster box |
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| valentines |
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| building a snowman |
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| drawing |
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| swings |
March - 4 years, 8 months
We celebrated Clara's baptism with friends and family in town. With the weather warming, we were able to spend some time outdoors and at the zoo. We celebrated Easter by dying eggs, attending Edmund's Easter party at preschool, looking at our Resurrection eggs, and traveling to Indiana to celebrate with family.
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| clara's baptism |
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| at the zoo |
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| dyeing eggs |
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| easter party at preschool |
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| cousins |
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| easter babies |
April - 4 years, 9 months
This month meant spring, with lots of time spent playing in the backyard, playing at the park, and going to the zoo. They even got to ride the train. The boys got to release their butterflies that they grew from caterpillars. Mom went with Edmund on his class field trip to Bare Bowl to paint a mug for mom for a mother's day surprise.
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| releasing the butterflies |
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| brothers on a train |
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| edmund's mug and his mug |
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| edmund and mom |
May - 4 years, 10 months
The kids helped mom celebrate mother's day by taking her out to dinner and buying her some new tea. Edmund had his preschool spring program and he danced and sang, which was a first. Edmund had his preschool graduation party at the park. We went on some fun playdates to parks programs and the zoo with friends. We celebrated Nathaniel's birthday. We also spent memorial day hiking in Hocking Hills.
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| mother's day crew |
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| spring program |
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| edmund at his spring program |
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| fun with friends |
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| at the zoo again |
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| making nathaniel's birthday cake |
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| preschool graduation party |
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| hiking in hocking hills |
june - 4 years, 11 months
The boys celebrated their birthday with a farm party with friends and family. We made a trip to Shawn's graduation party in Indiana, where the boys got to hang out with family and go swimming. The boys also attended kids VBS at our church, where they got to dress up as their favorite character for the last day - the tree frogs. The boys also got to go to COSI for their big truck exhibit and got to try digging with a mini excavator.
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| farm boys |
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| happy birthday edmund |
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| ready for an egg hunt |
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| swimming at grammy and grandpa's |
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| little tree frogs |
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| tractors at the science museum |
July - 5 years
After attending a firefly class, Edmund loved catching a coupe fireflies at night to take to bed. He then released them in the morning. We celebrated Independence day by going to the Sunbury bi-centennial parade and lighting some small smoke fireworks and sparklers at home. Edmund went to zoo camp with his brother where he got to learn about animals and their super senses. He completed two weeks of swimming lessons and grew so much in his confidence in the water. We visited the Stratford Ecological Center for the first time for their farm storytime. We took a long trip to Iowa to celebrate the life of mom's dear friend Kaycee. We stopped on the way back and spent the evening with the Kim family. We also took a trip to the local splash pad with some friends.
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| 4th of july parade |
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| independence day sweethearts |
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| sparklers |
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| smoke bomb dancing |
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| zoo camp |
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| us with the kim boys |
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| story time |
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| swings |
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| splash pad fun |
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| catching fireflies |
What an amazing year we have had.
We thought it would be fun to interview Edmund and ask him a few questions each year. Here were his answers.
Questions:
1. What is your favorite color? I have two favorites. red and green.
2. What is your favorite toy? The Barn.
3. What is your favorite food? Milk.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Daniel Tiger.
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Dried mandarin oranges.
6. What is your favorite thing to wear? My clothes - my blue shirt.
7. What is your favorite game? Trouble.
8. What is your favorite book? Blues Clues books from the library.
9. What is your favorite animal? Theodore my bear and my earwig.
10. What is your favorite song? I like three songs - twinkle stars, Holy, and twinkle stars.
11. What is your favorite subject at school? Making things with glitter.
12. What is your favorite sport? Basketball.
13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Mowing the lawn.
14. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas because you get to eat cookies and go to the tree farm to get the Christmas tree and drink hot chocolate.
15. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My Theodore.
16. What is your favorite thing to have for dinner? Polenta.
17. What do you want to be when you grow up? A bulldozer guy. I want to dig holes so houses can fit in the ground and so they can put pipes.
18. What is the best thing about your family? Clara because she smiles at me.
19. Describe yourself, what kind of person are you? I'm Edmund and I kind of look like daddy.
20. If you could go anywhere where would you want to go? Minnesota.
21. What is something that makes you happy? Taking deep breaths and Clara.
22. What is something that makes you sad? If someone took my toys.
23. What are you scared of? Monsters and ghosts. I will try to scare them away. I will be a soldier and I will come and sold them. And nobody can sold me because I am a soldier. (Mom doesn't have the heart to tell him that soldiers don't sold.)
24. What is something you are really good at? Drawing pictures. I like to draw pictures of Kaycee and Matthew and baby me and me in the tree house.
25. What is the funniest thing you have ever seen? The crazy dance that Ms. Becky (my preschool teacher) did.
This has been an incredible year of growth for Edmund. Edmund has become a caring, emotionally expressive, and thoughtful five year old. We love seeing how our Creator formed him and continually pray for the wisdom to raise him in a way that brings Him glory. We are grateful for the gift of being his parents. It is something that we have prayed for and continue to pray for God to help us along this incredible path of raising him.
Through it all, God has continued to grow Edmund, mature him, and mold him until the man he will one day become. We are so very grateful to have a loving Savior to set the ultimate example in how to shepherd his heart. And to also be the example on how to forgive when we stumble and fall. Parenting is challenging and we honestly don't feel like we know what we are doing sometimes. One of the few things we do know is that we are loving getting to know Edmund and Him more and more as the days go by.
Happy 5th birthday to our sweet Edmund, Teddy, and little bear. We love you so very much
How wonderful life is now you're in the world.
Love, Mom & Dad (Nathaniel and Clara)
Here are the links to Edmund' other updates, in case you are interested in seeing them.
