the king

King Cale is now 6.
SIX!!
Can I remember being pregnant with him?
Most definitely - he was my first and everything was so new...
Do I remember him as an infant or a toddler?
Absolutely.  He was top dog for 3 years before Megersa joined our family.
Recall life before him though?  ...Vaguely.

Cale had a fairytale day at school a week or two ago.  He dressed up as a dragon because his King costume had no crown.  When he came home and found out we DID have a king costume the crown didn't matter - he's been donning the masculine red fleece and purple velvet moo-moo and playing the "master" role proudly.

To be honest it comes naturally to him.  He loves to sit on top.  He likes his status as the oldest and the perks he gets from being the biggest and strongest...  Yes, he's a thoughtful kid and is quite sensitive to boot - but his life absolutely revolves around him.  And whether it's in that moment, or potential moments down the road, he needs to have something he deems worthy to do - and to my hair-pulling dismay, he seems to need to find someone guess what it is.
"What can I do now?"
Oy.  Buddy....your 2 year old brothers are always finding creative things to do. Not that I want my 6 year old dipping my cooking utensils in the toilet (...why is it always the toilet?!), but I want you to think outside the box.  Or even inside the box.  Play with one of the hundreds of toys we have all over the place that you trip over to ask me what to play with!

.....but I digress.  He's in a new era.  School age - his teacher is structuring his path for several hours a day and he follows suit quite nicely says she, so maybe he is checking out to see if I've formed a schedule for him after 6 years.  ....Nope. ;)

But I love that kid with as much love as a heart could hold.  When I get quiet time alone with him, my eyes are straining to focus on his features.  He's truly looking older.  And mature.  He's tall and lean and has these cute little boy muscles...when did those show up?!

He's loving game time - Mario, Mario, Mario is one of his #1 topics of conversation with anyone who will listen. ;)  But he's also trying his hand at playing board games.  ...not a big fan of losing, but I have yet to find anyone, besides his Pop-Pop, of any age who really likes to lose; or is gracious about it for that matter.... haha.

Gosh, I could gush about him for another hour, or I could try and decipher how to work around or through the challenges we face with him at his age...but I'll leave it where it is and close with just a quick little blog letter to him:

Cale Timothy,
My firstborn - the moment we found out we were expecting you - Daddy and I changed forever.  Your birth 6 years ago made us feel like a true family and our lives have never been the same.  I hope you never notice our parenting trial-and-error we practiced on you because we're realizing that after 4 more of your siblings come along - we'll never truly get it right.  You are a great big brother and a terrific son. Thank you for being such an awesome little boy.
Don't ever move away and give us lots and lots of grandkids in the future!!
Love, Mommy