Profiles, Third in a Series

Do you remember the frustrated three-year-old that we dragged from his familiar surroundings, his beloved grandparents, and his very best buddy Sebastian just under two years ago?

I managed to catch him in a happy moment a couple of weeks after we landed in Melbourne, but those moments were few and far between.

He spent most of his time looking more like this:

James was decidedly not a happy camper for our first few months in Australia, and really, who could blame him? It is just that his reaction took us a bit by surprise. Uprooting your kids can reveal things to you about them that you have not yet realized. We now know that James attaches himself deeply to those he loves, and he does not form new attachments easily. First and foremost in his life is his daddy, as he reminds me from time to time. If Ross can't be home to tuck him into bed, James will often cry himself to sleep. That was true two years ago, and is still true today.

Here are some pictures of the two of them when they met up in the city for lunch about one year ago.

Next I have a picture of James with his very first friend, taken in Pittsburgh last July:

After nearly two years in Australia, James still speaks of Sebastian fondly. It took him almost a year to start playing with children his own age in Australia. Today he does have a special friend at school. They wait for each other at the school gate, and sit together under the friendship tree until both are finished eating lunch so they can play soccer together. It is pure pleasure to watch them interact.

As for school itself, James has not wavered in his enthusiasm for it. If you ask him what he likes best, his answers are, "First play, second play, sport, and art." First play and second play are what he calls recess. He does however take the learning part quite seriously. I often overhear him repeating to himself what the teacher has taught that day. He spends literally hours at home in a week practicing his writing, and he begs me for reading lessons. I think this is rather funny actually.

I spent so many hours trying to teach my first three children to read and write, and I cannot say that they enjoyed the majority of that time. Sophie loved writing, it is true, but getting the first two kids to practice handwriting was torture. As for learning to read from our standard resource, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," most days I was ready to throw that book at the wall. It did work, and for that I am grateful, but I was looking forward to having someone else teach James how to read.

Now he has been begging me for more than a year to teach him to read, and I have finally agreed to pull out the dreaded 100 Easy Lessons book. James loves it. Once when Katie suggested that it might be best for our family to resume homeschooling during our transition time back to the U.S., James ran screaming from the room in absolute horror, "I will never be homeschooled!" He doesn't realize that I am doing exactly that, at his request.

When he is not practicing his letters, or begging to play the wii, James can usually be found outdoors riding his bike. He brings heaps of joy to our lives, especially when he crawls onto my lap for an extra long cuddle. He also keeps us humble, but rather than dwell on those moments, I'll share my favorite photos of 2012 of the youngest member of the Wilkin family.

This morning I visited James's classroom for a special session of Mother's Day pampering. He has been excited about it for weeks. I received a shoulder massage (from James), had lotion rubbed into my hands (by James), and had my fingernails painted the exact color of my jacket (yes, by James). All this after he brought home a special present for me yesterday. He insisted on giving it to me immediately rather than waiting until Sunday. I love the enthusiasm of five-year-olds, especially five-year-old boys. My heart is full, and for this, and for him, I am grateful.