Looking for a Leprechaun

Alden is so funny to me. He's so incredibly practical about everything. Things are very black and white in his world, but he's so amazingly cool. I love everything about my little 5 year old. We went to the dentist on Wednesday, and when the hygenist who was wearing Ohio State scrubs walked into the room, he said in his surprisingly adult sounding voice, "Oh I really like your shirt. It looks nice. I really like the Buckeyes too." He then sat up straight in the dentist chair as still as could be with his mouth open wide while his teeth were cleaned and examined. I really can't believe how much he's grown. Despite his grown-up ways, he is still a five year old. On St. Patrick's Day, he came home and told me that Mrs. Curl, his teacher, caught a leprechaun and was going to show him to the class. He said that when she opened the box to show everyone, the leprechaun had escaped. They looked and looked for him, but they couldn't find him. He came home and wondered if perhaps (a favorite word of Alden's) he had come to our house. I told him that leprechauns don't actually exist to which he adamantly told me that they do in fact exist. I still haven't convinced him otherwise. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that I'm right. I wonder how long he'll insist that they are real.

Since moving here, Alden has made a quite a few new friends. He loves the kids in his class, especially his friend, Jack, and he's also really loved his friend Thomas at church. Sadly, Thomas and his family moved back to Utah this month. We were sad to have them go, but Alden assured Thomas on several occasions that they'd get to see each other when we went to visit Utah. From all of our moving around, Alden has grown especially close to his family. The other day he told me that his cousins, his brother, and his grandparents were his best friends. I'm so happy that he loves his family so much. We had Michael's parents come for Easter, and he was bouncing off the walls with excitement to have his grandpa and abuelita stay at his house. He really is such a lovable, sweet boy.


He is really into calling people right now on the telephone. He loves to call me. Today I was just sitting here, and the phone rang. I was puzzled to see my cell phone number on the caller ID. I picked it up and heard, "Hello, Mom. This is Alden." He was in a chatting mood, so I suggested he call his grandma. He knew everything but the last 4 digits of her phone number (he's only called it one or two times). He's a smart cookie.

The other night after we had read stories for the night, I saw "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch sitting on Thobe's bed. I asked the boys if they'd like to hear one more story that always makes me cry. They are always excited about hearing another story, so I read the book and ended up crying harder than I remembered crying the last time I read it (what a cry baby). Anyway, at the end of the story, the mother tries to sing the song I'll love you forever to her grown up boy but is too old and sick to finish the song. Alden looked somewhat worried, like he always does when I cry, but I told him I was crying because I love him and miss my mom. I told him that I am so happy to be with him, so everything is the way it's supposed to be. Then Thobe asked me to lie down by him, so I did, and soon the room became quiet and two little boys, I assumed, were headed off to dreamland. Soon, Thobe's eyes closed and his breathing became slow and steady. It was then that Alden asked, "Mom, old people don't sing very well, right?" I realized that he had been thinking about the story. I told him that some do, but some don't when they are tired and sick. Then he said, "Mom, when I'm a grandpa, you'll be an old grandma, right?

"Right," I assured.

"Oh good. Well goodnight, Mom," he said as he relaxed and drifted off to sleep.