Our Jedi Knight

Recently, after dropping Amy off at the airport, Dylan asked what time mom's plane "blasted off." Yes Dylan, mom's going to mars...she'll be back Wednesday. He's beginning to speak the same language as his ancestors and has decided that he's going to (slowly) let others know this. According to some, he'll be the "native" in both languages (no accent) since Taylor learned more "Engels" before her Dutch and Mackenzie will probably be back in the "states" before she's absorbed enough "Nederlands." While he claims he doesn't like school, he never joined the early school year rotation of children that cried "voor momma." We think it's just an age thing. His smile and laugh are contagious. He's starting to draw, color, and do mazes. Chocolate sandwiches are no longer a favorite for Dylan...a blessing, since he's not enthusiastic about brushing his teeth. He still loves machines...his current favorite is the fighter jet(s) that occasionally flies over the house low, and fast. Unfortunately, unlike his previous favorite, the garbage truck, the F-16 is usually gone by the time he drops his legos and gets outside (they are actually F-16's). He's also a Jedi knight who uses his "light saver (sabre)" to kill "Dark (Darth) Vader." I'm usually "Vader" in this exchange--appropriate since the Dutch word for father is "vader." Hopefully this doesn't portend future events. When Dylan hasn't been seen for a bit it's a safe assumption that he's somewhere playing with his legos or his magnetix. Otherwise, we can find him by following the sound of gunfire, explosions, and rockets blasting off. While this makes him sound like a "boy's boy," it was 5/2 (girls/boys) at his birthday party. Amy's calling him a "chick magnet"...possibly the first time I've heard her use this phrase. A school friend, Eline, draws Dylan pictures almost daily, tries to hold his hand, and has their initials together on her wall. Her birthday gift to Dylan was a picture of the two of them. Dylan was recently seen holding hands with a girl he had just met. Another girl from school told her mother that Dylan is teaching her English. Since five year old boys usually have other things on their minds, he's mostly oblivious to his recent good fortune with females. Hopefully his luck hangs on until prom! Dylan has to know he can do something right, in his mind, before he'll step out and do it. He's on the verge of many breakthroughs, some small (like riding a bike without training wheels), some large (like learning two languages). He is just beginning to step away from his "second born" shadow and into the light.