I'm in love with a 5-year-old, and his name is Tovi.
Tovi is my first-born, my introduction to parenthood, my proving grounds. And he's fantastic.
He's creative, living in his imagination, acting out super-hero adventures in every day life.
He's compassionate, quick to sense emotion and eager to respond.
He's particular and quirky, keeping life interesting and amusing.
He's learning to be a good big brother, genuinely enjoying his little brother and inviting him into his daily adventures.
He's a fan of slides.
He's got a heart for God and desires to be good for Him. He commits God's word to heart and strives to live by it.
And he's down-right good!
Tovi's name means good in Hebrew. Like in Genesis, when God created and saw that it was good. He is literally our good boy.
4 has been a fantastic year. We've lived in capes and masks, even to the grocery store. Tovi fell in love with Robin, the Boy Wonder, the side-kick extraordinaire. We've giggled until we've got the hiccups. We've been to Florida twice. We've made major changes in our lives. We've learned to write our name, phonics, right from left, and how to get to our favorite places around town. We've snuggled. And snuggled. And snuggled. I've loved every age, but I must say, this has been my favorite so far. I'm a little sad to leave it behind, but I know more adventure is yet to come.
Tovi turned 5 today. It's a big deal.
So tonight, I'm not imparting wisdom or mulling over life's lessons. I'm just bragging on my precious Tovi. So here are a few of my favorite Tovi-isms from this last year!
"Last night as I put Tovi to bed, we heard sirens. He said, "Oh no, someone's in trouble!" He thought for a minute and then said, "They need a transformer! That would keep them safe!" :)" (August 29, 2011)
"Tovi got a Captain America shield for his birthday. This has necessitated teaching him how to say "disks." His pronunciation leads to embarrassment." (Sept 6, 2011)
"Tonight Tovi told me a story:
"Hey Mom, I got to tell you sumfing. You know the black Power Ranger became bad guy? Yeah! He was a monster. Awkward!!"Then he laughed hysterically :)" (Oct 12, 2011)
"Tonight in the bathtub, this is what transpired...
Tovi: (tooting) Hahaha...ha...ha. I fink that's funny!
Me: Why is that funny?
Tovi: Ummm...I don't know...dogs pee outside.
Me: ...yes. Yes they do." (Nov. 16, 2011)
Nathan threw a toy, and Tovi said, "Daddy! That's not bery nice. You shouwd go to your woom." Then tonight when we were talking about Christmas, Tovi said, "What about Baby Jesus in the nest?" When I could stop laughing, I explained about the manger. (Nov 29, 2011)
"Today Tovi did maybe a dozen little things he knows he's not supposed to do, so I told him there'd be no snuggles at bedtime. As I settled Oren into bed, Oren asked for snuggles, and Tovi called from down the hall, "She won't give you any!" Ha!" (Feb 5, 2012)
"Me: Tovi, do you have pants on?
Tovi: I need pants?" (Feb 16, 2012)
"Tovi was reading his new Batman book to me, and he was struggling with the name "Two-Face." He said, "Batman's going to get Toothpaste!"" (Feb 16, 2012)
Tovi: Mom, I have a plan.
Me: Oh yeah? What's that?
Tovi: We can get more chips.
Me: Oh? Where would we do that?
Tovi: We can get them at the store. We can go tomorrow. I WANT more chips." (March 4, 2012)
"Tovi keeps adding extra syllables into the word "snuggles.". We are up to suh-nuhg-uhd-uhls." (April 1, 2012)
"Tovi asked for 20 snuggles tonight. I asked how we measure 20 snuggles, and he said, "Snuggles go round and round in a circle until they come back to snuggles again."" (April 16, 2012)
"Me: "It rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and water covered the land for 150 days."
Tovi: "...it was wet."" (April 23, 2012)
"On the way home, Tovi said, "Mom, I'm thirsty. How about we stop here for a nice, cold juice?" Sweet-talking little boy!" (May 10, 2012)
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Tovi explained to me why elephants aren't available in pet shops and calls sun screen skun screen. :)" (June 24, 2012)
"Oren has action figure Thor's hammer, and Tovi has action figure Power Ranger's sword, and they are engaged in an epic (miniature) battle." (June 7, 2012)
1) Mom, can we vacuum? This floor's a mess!
2) (while watching me swish the toilet) I sure wish I could do that!" (July 23, 2012)
"5 years ago tonight, my mom was sneaking us to the hospital to have Tovi. He was born at 8:11 the following morning. We've been having fun ever since!" (Aug 10, 2012)
That's my Tovi James, and I love him!
