Five and a Half

My five and a half year old is really growing up. He loves riding his bike right now. He sometimes even wants to ride it before school and immediately when he gets home. It's amazing to see the difference in his riding skills just from the end of last summer to now. He's fast! He'll ride for over an hour...up and down the lane....talking to himself about who knows what...in his own little world.
On this day, the rain didn't even stop him from riding.
School is over now. His last day was on Thursday. Man did that go fast! I loved his teacher and I loved his school. He has learned so much...to read, to write, to be loving and kind to his friends. He's learned 26 verses in the bible, computer skills, rhythm and addition. He's excited about kindergarten next year. I'm excited about a break from the school routine for a couple of months. Hello summer!!

We've also noticed a lot of maturity over the past several months in Caedmon. Temper tantrums and the whining we've dealt with in the past are gone. He's helping around the house with feeding the pets and putting dishes away. He looks out for his sister. I love to see the growth in him. New challenges will come I'm sure with each stage of life, but we are sure enjoying our five and a half year old right now!

Caedmon and Kaiya are old enough to play outside by themselves now with me checking on them occasionally of course. They've always been good about staying right around the house. I was running on our property one morning and saw them walk toward the back field...thinking they would stop at the edge of the back field, I let them explore a little. As I continued my running/walking, I frequently looked in that direction for any sign of their little bodies coming back toward the house. Eventually, I decided it was time to see what they were up to and exactly how far they had gone. As I ran toward the back field there was no sign of them anywhere. We have a little over thirty acres...ten of it being wooded. I ran to the back of the backfield which is quite a distance and into the woods. We have a trail through the woods that winds back around to the house. For a five and three year old it would have been easy to get off the path. I found them on the trail and they had almost made it all the way back to the house already! I couldn't believe that they had gone that far by themselves. When I approached them huffing and puffing, I explained that they were never to go that far without mommy and daddy's permission. Caedmon's first words were that he was "betecting" Kaiya...making sure nothing happened to his sister. Barkley the dog and Jack the cat were also along for the adventure.

They sure are growing up.