Emil at 5 1/2

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Oh, this little guy. He has become quite the handful, as evidenced by the meeting we had to have with his teacher regarding his classroom shenanigans.

But he is still the sweetest, most nurturing, and funny little guy. He loves to play with Legos and Magnatiles, he draws and paints constantly, still nurtures his baby doll Baby Tommy and dotes over the neighborhood babies, and is trying to learn how to read. He is also getting into plenty of mischief at home. If anyone caught my post on Instagram about it, you’ll know we have our hands full; he made a teacher’s aide cry, ruined Milo’s 3-year-old pencil lead collection, dumped brand new batteries into a glass of water, ripped a wooden shutter off the backyard playhouse, and stuck a pea-sized wad of paper so far down his ear canal, we almost had to go to the ER to retrieve it (luckily I was able to very carefully remove it with tweezers while Oliver held a flashlight and Emil lay completely still on our couch Thursday evening)… all over the course of three days.

Oh, Emil, who had basically no tantrums when he was two, or three, or even four, is now more emotionally volatile, which we think is related to an emotional growth spurt, because he is still so sweet and healthy and developing everywhere else. He is suddenly afraid of the dark all over again and refuses to sleep alone in his room, instead taking turns sleeping with one of his brothers.

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And yet, this phase is not at all bad. He is so, so funny, I can’t even do him justice. He makes up funny songs and sings them all day long, dances constantly, farts on command, builds surprisingly effective booby traps, and has a wickedly mischievous laugh. He is the first to set the table every night without being asked. He offers to help, he is kind to his brothers and friends, he is imaginative and creative and just plain awesome.

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And for some reason always does this pose, even when I tell him, “Don’t pose, just do what you’re doing and ignore me!”

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We love you so much, little buddy. You are the most cuddly little impish boy, even when you’re naughty.

8 thoughts on “Emil at 5 1/2”
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  1. This post made me laugh and reminded me a bit of Zuzu… I asked her today if she was peaceful or ornery during rest time. “Ornery,” she said. Then, “What’s ornery?” I told her it meant a little bit naughty and mischievous. “Yes,” she said. “I was that.”

    I also love the idea of an emotional growth spurt causing some turmoil–makes perfect sense to me (I think I’ve had more than a few of those myself over the course of my life!).

    1. Ha, ha! That’s great, Brooke. Zuzu sounds a lot like my little Emil. At least she’s honest! I know when I ask Emil if he made good choices at school, and he didn’t, he just fesses up immediately, just so matter-of-fact.

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