Well, hello, Jonah. It's nice to meet you.

This year I'm learning so much about Jonah. His mind is developing so quickly, quirks are emerging, personality traits growing stronger, plus we're seeing a blossoming love for science.

We've always known Jonah is an intense kid. He feels joy, sorrow, love, injustice, interest, anxiety, all emotions, deeply.

Since Dubbie and Gr'Grandpa passed away, Jonah's been asking a ton of questions about death, after-life, and aging. Point blank, what happens to our body after our soul leaves it?

His class at school studied the life-cycle of a pumpkin in October. This spawned talks about decomposition, which led to a slew of deep, cold-hard-reality type questions. The kid wants to know.

I am getting better at predicting his reactions to the answers now, and know that he still needs shelter from some answers; to be assured that these are not things a five year old needs to worry about. Because he does worry. Intensely.

In his school work I've noticed a gift for finding patterns, a love for sports and science, impatience for working on things that don't come easily, a tendency to be distracted (especially when he's tired or hungry), and an appreciation for loyal friends. He seems to value loyalty over all other traits.

And, it's not the best thing to inherit from his blood relatives, but the kid is NOT a morning person (just like most of his aunts and his Mama's parents). Truly a grump if over-stimulated in the morning - he needs a good hour to wake up and be civil. We even had to decline walking to school with his best friend to save the friendship!

We're still working on our social graces.

I so love the way Jonah's mind works. He often mis-labels things, but his descriptions are always based on logic and easy to understand. And there's no shame in it :)

"cup-folder"
because the cup-holder, folds under his seat

"cookie bar"
because a Cliff Bar tastes like a cookie

"camelflauge"
because the shapes on his camo shirt resemble camels

And, our rent car smells "renty"

Jonah gives hugs freely. He sings LOUD silly songs when he has to walk alone into a scary room. He cheers his sister on when she succeeds at something new. He wants to be a race car driver when he grows up. He's sincerely crushed by a bad day at school. He fears losing things and missing people. He loves flashlights, light bulbs, glow in the dark anything. He's ticklish on his shoulders, and has THE best belly-laugh ever.

And this fabulous kid calls me his "Mommidy MamaHamaRama".