five

oh dear. the holidays are upon us, and i had really hoped to post something about cosmo's birthday before now. he turned five in november. that number always loomed, in my mind, as a huge milestone. it's the point where they move into official kid-ness. not a baby anymore, not a toddler anymore, and barely even a pre-schooler.



cosmo had a wonderful birthday. we had a nice after-school party for him, with 5 kids he chose to invite. it was hard to let go, and let him decide, but since he had opinions, and he doesn't always express preferences, i thought it was important to honor his choices...even if it meant some of my dear friends' children were not invited. gulp.



we had a low-key party, where the most exciting part turned out to be chasing each other around with blow-out noise-maker-party-favor-thingies. talk about cheap thrills! the next day, he came down with strep. the scarlet fever strain. poor little thing. he was mostly couch-ridden through thanksgiving, but was all better in time to go to TX, for an early xmas with nani and family.

this also marks the fifth year of this blog.
five years.
sigh.
'nuf said.

so far, my favorite thing about five-year-olds is the helpfulness. i was expecting this, or at least hoping for it, and, remarkably, it arrived, like clock work. cosmo has a new found interest in helping out, and the competence to actually BE helpful. i will savor this while it lasts.

on the day cosmo turned three...

there were
presents (i built cosmo an easel),



friends and family,



more presents,



desserts (carrot cake, chocolate swirl cupcakes),




and prismatic squawker blowouts.




there was
a stray cat,



music,



a pinata (it's supposed to be jupiter),



a bonfire (not pictured),
and a jam session with kid kazooey.



as cosmo was laying down to go to bed tonight, he asked "i'm three, now?" and practiced holding up three fingers.

"two"

cosmo turned two on the day after thanksgiving. he was thrilled to have his beloved uncles ch. and h. visiting from houston. carl made his now-famous-pumpkin-bread in a cake pan, and we topped it with whipped cream and a few blueberries. i couldn't find the birthday candles, so we had to use some household/emergency ones i had in the cabinet. he managed to blow them out this year, i think. or, maybe i was too busy snapping photos to actually witness that for myself.

two also happens to be one of cosmo's favorite words right now. he pronounces it really well, and uses it to indicate most quantities larger than one.



two is also the number of fish oil tablets that cosmo gets to take each day. i was concerned that cosmo might not be getting enough omega 3, 6 & 9 fatty acids, which are said to be important for the developing brains of small children. so, i got him some fish oil supplements designed for kids. they are similar to a vitamin e capsule, and they burst in his mouth when he bites down on them. i tasted one, and it did not taste good. they have some lemon oil in them, but it does not mask the nasty fish oil taste and odor. surprisingly, cosmo LOVES these. he knows that he gets two, and he gets all giggly and giddy when we hand them to him, and chuckles as each one pops inside his mouth.
"how many do you get cosmo?"
"two! tee hee hee"
he refers to them as fish, asks for them every time he sees the bottle, and gets upset if we refuse (because he has already had them that day). luckily, offering a clementine instead is enough to get him to forget about them...for a little while anyway.