Happy 5th Birthday YO!

My babyyyyyyyy!

You're now five-years-old! FIVE!! That's a big boy!

You're truly a big boy now. Over the weekend we picked up admission forms for your brother's school. Yes, this birthday also marks the end of your time at pre-school. You my baby, are now ready for big school. Early next year, I shall have two children in Big School; my days as a nursery school mommy will be over. I haven't stopped weeping since the thought first struck me!

But look at you! Look how you've grown! My sun-shiney boy, so full of love, laughter and jumping beans! And so full of naughtiness! Your pictures just shine with mirth, merriment and mischief! (thoo-thoo-thoo!)

You're an imp all right, and your most favourite thing to do in the world is somersaults. You don't know how to sit still, you don't know how to walk; you're always running, skipping, tumbling, jumping and rolling about. It is really, really tough to keep up with you! Your father is constantly on hyper mode when you're up and about, but given your penchant for climbing things and for gymnastics, it really isn't difficult to sympathise with him.

You still have that adorably charming and childish way of speaking. Your l's still have a hint of an r in them and most of your s's are sh's. Sho you shound like thish when you talk. And adorable thought it is, I have been trying to correct it for a while now since, yes, Big School is around the corner and the last thing I would want is for you to be teased. Oh, but the things you say! You want to sleep with your 'weapons' so that they can protect you; you asked your Manuku (grandmother) to get married again so that you can have another Daduku and at your brother's birthday party you sat down with a glass full of Pepsi (after clinking it with your father's friend's glass complete with a "Cheers!", mind you) and asked that you not be disturbed! The other day, you took my face in your hands and kissed me first on my cheeks, then my forehead and finally my chin. I melted at this display of tenderness and you went and added, "That's a diamond for you." If I hadn't frozen in awe, I would have probably fainted. And then of course, you love to ask me, "I am looking handsome? I am looking like a hero?" Arrey, just the other day, you were getting ready for a birthday party, you ayah dressed you up in the clothes that I had laid out and you ran in to my room, all scrubbed and ready, saying, "Mamma! Thank you for this hero-ness!" I think my jaw dropped, because I didn't say anything, so you went on and asked me, "Am I looking hero on my face?" Ooof! Too much!

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you can actually read! It took a while coming and I have to admit, I was beginning to despair of it ever happening, but it is, it is happening and it thrills me no end! Yes, you still fumble and hesitate, but considering the struggle we had at the beginning of the year, where you are now is pretty much near the top of Mt. Everest. You may not be a bookworm like your brother yet, but there's time enough for that. You love being read to and it's a must at bedtime and that's good enough for me.

And speaking of your brother, you really are his little tail. Your personalities are so different from each others as are your looks, builds, hobbies and interests and yet you two are devoted to each other -- touch wood! Seeing the relationship you share has stirred my pot of mamta many a time, filling me with warmth and love. You are each other's biggest fans, biggest protectors and of course biggest tattle-tales -- as if that could be avoided! You repeat everything he says, often with comical results. One of the virtues of having an older sibling is that you get to see, say and do things sooner than s/he was allowed to. So while the EO was fed on a steady diet of Dora and Diego for the longest time possible, you graduated far too quickly to Transformers, Ben 10 and Beyblades. So while I am totally used to the EO and the Nephew talking about 'killing' each other when they're in the throes of an inter-galactic war (a la Star Wars), coming from you, the death-destruction-and-annihilation phrases are still quite the shocker! And when the shock wears off, yes, hilarious, because of the way you say it! Of course your biggest hero is Chhota Bheem and frequent viewings of Noddy or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ensure that your innocence hasn't been bludgeoned to pulp by the Decepticons, so I have wearily accepted your all too enthusiastic participation in your brothers' games of mayhem and chaos.

But then again, you do have a set of manners about you, and that's wonderful. You say please, sorry, thank you and excuse me when the occasion demands and I hope this is a trait that you keep with you now and always.

Our battles with food continue; you refuse to eat it and I refuse to let you starve. Look at you my boy! You're a thin little waif! People look at us together and wonder if I starve you just to eat your share! And that's why your nicknames of Tadpole, Chingri Maach and Haar Gilley endure. Please eat, my son! And no, I'm not talking about just sweets and biscuits!

What was it you said to me after you came back from school recently? "I love you outside of the Earth and biggest than that!" Of course I added, "I love you to the sun and moon and back!" Of course you wouldn't let me have the last say; your addition was "And I love you to the entire space including the dwarf planets!"

Of course my jaw dropped.

But then with you, what else is new?

I love you my big-eyed, heart-breaker. To the sun, moon and way, waaaaaayyyyyy beyond!

Happy birthday, my little love, happy 5th birthday!

Yours,

Mamma