We joke that no one has ever been more excited for their birthday than Rhett and his propensity to talk about his birthday for months before the actual day arrived carried on once again this year. Rhett talked at length about the kind of cake he wanted — a melon cake, a marshmallow cake, a s’mores cake — before ultimately deciding on a Squashie cake to celebrate the big number five!
There are a billion things we love about our little five year old and so much about Rhett is just so yummy. There’s really no other word. You know that saying “I could just eat you up” – -well, I’m convinced it was made for kids like Rhett. He loves to press his cheeks firmly against mine for “cheeky huggies” throughout the day. He’ll call out “I love you, Mom” in the most high-pitched little voice from the back of the car at random times but also somehow at the exact moment I need it.
Rhett is sensitive and loving and gets so much out of one-on-one time with any member of our family as well as snuggle time. (If you think I can ever refuse him when he asks, “Mom, do you want to snuggle up with me under a blanket?” even when it’s 90+ degrees outside, you would be wrong. Yes, yes I do want to sweat and snuggle, Rhett.)
His brothers are his world and he loves nothing more than being included in their fun. He adores swimming and loves riding his bike, building with blocks, Legos, craft projects, coloring, sensory kits, fishing, climbing, dancing, riding his dirt bike, helping me in the kitchen, driving his tractor, taking Pepper on walks, listening to Mom and Dad read him stories, helping Ryan in the yard and building forts.
He’s quick to laugh and I’m pretty sure no one makes Rhett laugh harder than Rhett himself, though his brothers come very close. Rhett loves adventure and visiting new places but his favorite place in the entire world is home. He is slow to warm up to people he doesn’t know and we laugh because he’ll jump off an 18-foot dock without thinking twice but ask him to carry on a conversation with a stranger and it’s a hard pass.
Separation Struggles
We went through some challenges with our little guy that started about 6 months ago but they are thankfully easing up now as of about 3 weeks ago. Seemingly out of nowhere, Rhett all of the sudden started to really, really struggle in new situations where he had to be separated from me. He never once struggled at drop offs, in new places, or when a new babysitter would watch him, but all of the sudden he began having major breakdowns if I wasn’t with him. With the exception of preschool, church and boot camp (his regular places), he would start to cry and scream if I tried to leave him.
This threw us for a biiiig loop because Rhett was never like this before and we could not seem to get to the bottom of what was going on or why he was so upset. I even took a course by Dr. Becky about anxiety in kids thinking maybe that could be it (I do not believe it was in the end) but, honestly, the most helpful thing I did during this time was talk to other moms. Two moms who had been through something similar (one I remembered having a son who struggled in Ryder’s TK class and the other is a mom of four and a neighbor friend with a son in Rhett’s class who said 3 of her 4 went through this) both said the same thing: One day, it just seemed to get better. It took about 6-12 months but it did get better.
This made me realize we might be in it for the long haul (and I was also very open to getting help if it didn’t get better) but clearing our schedules from camps for the summer and meeting Rhett where he was at all summer long seemed to help. We didn’t completely put our lives on pause but we did cut down on the number of times we used a babysitter or childcare because it was so darn stressful.
Then, like my two mom friends said, one day it just started to get better. All of the sudden, he wasn’t screaming at the thought of me leaving. All of the sudden he was increasingly okay with separating from me and Ryan. We tried so hard to meet Rhett with love and patience during this time but it was so defeating. There wasn’t one magic thing we did to get over the hump of separation and I’m equal parts relieved and grateful it’s so much better now. I was seriously stressed about the start of the school year because while Rhett loves his school, he’d be in a new classroom with a new teacher. I could not have asked for better drop-offs and he’s adjusted so well to his new TK class. Maaaajor sigh of relief!
Little Brother Rhett
Ryder and Chase are Rhett’s sun, moon and stars. He adores his big brothers and the way he looks up to them, imitates them, plays with them and adores them makes my heart melt. He thinks they are the funniest, coolest kids and I’m incredibly grateful for the way his big brothers include him in their fun.
The five-year age difference between Chase and Rhett could mean they might not have as much in common but thankfully this has not been our experience. Chase does such a good job of giving Rhett “important” roles in their games and their shared interest in the outdoors, animals, nature and imagination games means they play so well together.
Rhett and Ryder are a duo who giggle together non-stop and come up with the silliest, most creative games. They have a shared love of building and creating and have made some seriously impressive airports, animal rescue centers, race tracks, etc., with their magnetic tiles and blocks.
Do brother fights happen? Of course. Daily. And usually it’s Rhett who is the one exploding. Rhett is still every bit of a typical five-year-old who feels very passionate about five-year-old things which means sometimes meltdowns occur if someone takes his toy, accidentally knocks over one of his creations, etc. We’re working with Rhett on telling his brothers to stop and giving them a chance to change their behavior after Rhett communicates with them before he explodes and slowly but surely we’re seeing progress. Brother battles get easier with every year that passes as each kid gets a little older, a little more mature and a little less passionate about toys. Ha!
Random Things to Remember
- Favorite Foods: JohnnyPops, carrots, cantaloupe, bell peppers, muffins, chicken nuggets, apples, blueberry bagel with butter, watermelon, cucumbers, Quinn’s peanut butter pretzels, pizza, chocolate mint bars
- Favorite Color: Yellow and green
- Favorite Book: Anything Elephant & Piggie (he thinks they’re hilarious), Mercy Watson, What Do People Do All Day?, Daniel Tiger
- Favorite Song: “Lava Chicken,” “Jukebox Hero,” “Eye of the Tiger”
- Favorite Show: Grizzly and the Lemmings
- Favorite Animal: Dogs
- Wake Up Time/Bed Time: Bedtime is right around 7:30 p.m. and Rhett typically wakes up around 7 a.m.
Likes
- Swimming in the pool and the lake
- Riding his bike and dirt bike
- Building with magnetic tiles, blocks, Lincoln Logs, etc.
- Coloring (he loves Color by Number books)
- School and his classmates
- Playing at the beach
- Arts and crafts projects
- Pepper
- Sensory kits
- Imagination games
- Listening to Mom and Dad read his favorite books
- Cuddling up for family movie nights
- Fishing with his brothers (or being in charge of measuring their catches)
- Forts and tents
5 Year Old Favorites
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