My FIVE Year Old Noley-Bear

Oh, Nolan, you are 5!
I stare at your little face at least one hundred times a day, Nolan. You are such a cute little boy and every day you are changing and maturing. I love how you ask me to sit and snuggle with you almost every day and you always come up to me with a kiss or hug. You are affectionate and loving with your family and you have a huge heart.
You were really excited to turn 5 and we celebrated up in the snow in South Lake Tahoe with family. You swam in the pool and spa, rode sleds in the snow, made a snow man, shoveled snow, played with legos, rode your new scooter, played with your cousins, dressed up in your new Storm Trooper costume from Nana, and had a big chocolate cake to blow out the candles on. It was so much fun to see your excitement and I always hope you know that even though your birthday is close to Christmas, it is still very special to us.
This last year was extremely full for you. You finished up your first year of preschool and started your second year. We did some traveling to Disneyland, Monterey, and Tahoe. You love going new places and staying in hotels. You also started talking a lot more to strangers, which is funny! It's so fun to see you come out of your shell and answer questions when people ask you things. You are very honest and very sweet.
You played soccer for your second year and you seemed to enjoy it! You played with the same team and really started finding your own little stride toward the end of the season. I love watching you play and even though you aren't the most aggressive little guy - you are the sweetest (in my opinion). You would stop while you were playing and look over at me and yell "I love you, mommy" then blow me a kiss. You are a mama's boy and I love it so much. You and I really have a deep connection.
This year you also grew even closer to your daddy. You are starting to really love learning more about what he does at work. When we go visit you want to see all of the different gadgets on the fire engines and learn more about what he does. You are very smart about knowing all of the tractors and tools, too!
We had an awesome summer waiting for your newest baby brother to come, Spencer. Every single day you and Andie would be out in the pool while Cody took his afternoon nap. You became very confident with your swimming and I loved watching you tackle that. It wasn't easy because you have a little bit of fear in the water, but by the end of summer, you were swimming so well!
You absolutely love being the "biggest" brother and it's evident how much you adore your baby brothers. You and Cody have really started playing well together in the last few months. You do pretty well at sharing your toys with him and you two will play tractors, trucks, and tools for hours. You also both love riding your tractors with trailers all around the house! When Spencer came along, it melted me to see you with your new baby brother at 4 years old. You talk to him in a little baby voice, you immediately wanted to hold him and kiss him, and you really truly love him. You are a wonderful big brother and I hope you always keep your special relationship with your siblings.
You also still maintain a very close and special connection with Andie. You two do fight sometimes, but I would say the majority of the time you two are very close. I love watching you play and do art together, ride bikes together, and just be together. You are very defensive and protective of her and Cody. Just a few weeks ago we were in Hawaii and a little boy was holding Cody in the water when he was screaming to get away - you immediately went up to him and yelled at him to let Cody go and pushed him over. While we don't celebrate the pushing, I was really proud at how you responded. You are very protective with Andie, too, and if she gets in trouble for doing something wrong, you always come to her defense. You will always offer her something of yours if hers breaks, too. You are a sweet kid with a huge heart.
I loved watching you and Andie play all summer long. It was neat to see the relationship change and I hope you both know how lucky you are to have each other. I love when you both dress up, play house, play school, or make forts together.
You are not a great eater - but you do pretty well eating the things you do love. You have a very limited menu of things you want to eat. Your favorites are apples and peanut butter, Dino Bites, bananas, pb & j sandwiches, quesadillas, carrots, chocolate protein shakes, waffles with peanut butter and most fruit. You are wearing size 5T clothes, but most are still pretty big on you. We just had your 5 year check up and you are 39 pounds and 43 inches tall! You definitely aren't the tallest in the class, but you are growing and thriving!
You love your toys and play with them all day long. You love everything Star Wars, tools, balls, and in the last few months you have really become obsessed with building legos! You will build anything you can - blocks, magnet tiles - but especially legos. You do so well with the ages 5 and up legos and can build almost everything by following the pictures. Your teacher told me she thinks you may grow up to build things!
This Christmas was such a memorable one because you asked for a work bench. Pops spent several days and put so much love into building you your very own custom work bench. It's one of the most special gifts I have ever seen. When we went on vacation, you looked at me and told me you couldn't wait to get home because you missed it. You have also said that you want to keep it forever, and I am sure you will. It is so special, and I especially love the hand written note on the bottom of it from Pops. You are so lucky to have the relationship you have with him and Gramz. Speaking of Gramz, you two are definitely very close. Anytime she comes over, you ask if she will stay and you always want to sit by her and snuggle her.
Preschool this year has been good for you, but also been a little challenging, too. You've learned all of your letters and most of your numbers. You are doing well at writing your name and catching on to a few sight words. You have had some issues with being disruptive (a bit of a jokester), so we are working on it. Your teachers are reassuring that it's pretty normal behavior and you're just getting your wiggles out before starting Kindergarten in the fall. They have told me that anytime they have to talk to you, you always feel bad and try to be better. You have such a sweet side, but that temper is still there, too. It's all just part of your personality and you are trying to navigate all of the big feelings that come along with growing up.
You are really a sweet little boy, Nolan. You love your family with everything inside of you - and we love you back times ten. You give the tightest hugs and tell us randomly with out being prompted that you love us. You are a special little boy and I am so proud of you, Nolan. I absolutely love being your mommy. Never doubt yourself, you can do what you set your mind to and we will be proud of you no matter what you pursue in life - as long as you are content and kind.
I love you to infinity and beyond forever and ever. I am SO proud to be your mama.
Love,
Mama