The Bean is Seven and a Half!

The Bean is seven and a half!

I can't believe how grown up this kid is getting. He went from being a little five an a half pound baby, to a silly chatterbox toddler, to this boy who listens to songs on his headphones and goes into his room to read for  hours (okay, maybe just *hour*) on end. 

I know I'm biased, but he's a pretty great kid. He's one of those people that things just seem to come easy to. He's social. He's smart. He's athletic. Overall, he's pretty thoughtful and respectful. Like any kid, he'll sometimes pushes the boundaries, but he usually knows when to quit. 

He did incredibly well this school year. I think he was a bit of a teacher's pet. In fact, I was a bit concerned about whether he was becoming over-confident or getting a bit of an ego, so I am glad that he was placed in a grade 2/3 split class for the fall, where he will be in the younger cohort. I think it will be good for him to see that there are other kids who are ahead of him academically, and it should also give him a bit of a challenge, which he probably could have used more of this year. 

Unlike Sprout, who has her one best friend in the universe, The Bean has a few good friends that he  might prefer over others, but overall seems to get along with almost everyone from the kindergarten kids, to sixth graders (who gave him a nickname and let him play soccer and basketball with them), to the counselors at camp. He's extremely extroverted. 

He continued with basketball and soccer lessons through the spring session, both which he loved and continued to picked up new skills in. I honestly think he would play any sport that we gave him an opportunity to join, but I think we'll stick with these two (plus swimming) in the fall. After a bit of a hiatus, he also has been more interested in getting back on his skateboard. Biking and scootering are fun, but informal activities. We did parkour for my birthday and, not surprisingly, the kid is a natural.

We half-joke that the only times he is still are when he is sleeping and when he is reading. This child devours books. He saved up and bought himself a Kindle Fire on Prime Day. It has probably already paid for itself. Jen helped him put on the public library app, so he is able to check out e-books. I wouldn't be surprised if he was going through one a day. I can't even keep up anymore. He reads well above grade-level, which can be challenging, as the content of books at his level is often a bit more mature than I would prefer. Treasure Hunters and Spy School are favourite series, he's also read pretty much all the Roahl Dahl, Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary books. He likes books that are funny and mysteries. We've been listening to The 39 Clues on audio books and are all hooked! 

Food is still meh. He eats well, but is not an adventurous eater. If given a choice, I honestly believe he would eat nothing but bread, cereal, and crackers. He's a total carbaholic. I've been frustrated lately because he has been rejecting fruits that he previous ate without issue, saying he doesn't like them anymore. I tell him it's not his choice, but when he repeatedly refuses to eat something (like bananas) it kind of is his choice. Ugh. 

Sleep is pretty good. He doesn't like being alone in the dark, but thankfully the kids share a room. While he's mostly given up being read to, he still asks for a cuddle before bed, which is pretty sweet. He has a bajillion stuffies, but still needs "white blanket" for bedtime.

Even though he's growing up, he's still really open with us, which I hope continues. He tells us who his crushes are (!!!), when something is weighing on his conscience, or when he has a really amazing idea. He still gives giant goodbye hugs and accepts goodbye kisses.

I love this kid so much and am proud of the person he is growing up to be. 

Sprout is Five and Half!

Sprout is five and a half!

I haven't gone back to see what I wrote for age five, but it seems to me that Sprout has matured quite a bit in these past six months.

Her confidence seems to have grown. Being one of the "Senior Kindergarteners" in her her class this year allowed her to become more of a leader. She knew all the routines in the classroom and was usually eager to help out when there was an errand that had to be done or a substitute teacher or another student needed a hand. Her amazing teachers really helped build her up. They were great with pretty much all kids, but I think their encouragement made a big difference to Sprout. They awarded her a special certificate at the end of the year for displaying character traits that contributed to a positive atmosphere within the classroom. I was and am proud of how far she has come. 

Sprout is a sweet child. She's loving and empathetic. She's curious and creative.

She can also be incredibly stubborn and will try to use tears and (near) tantrums to get her way. It doesn't work, but she still tries. Sometimes she actually works herself up, but when we talk to her, she is able to give herself time to regain composure and talk to us about things a more rational way.

She still has her wicked sense of humour. I'm not sure she always realizes just how funny she is, but there are definitely times when she does. Her sense of comedic timing is impeccable. She has a dry whit, which I fully appreciate.

We took it easy on extra curriculum in the spring. The only thing she was doing was dance, which she continued to enjoy.

This summer she attended camp at the local community centre where she takes dance. I wasn't sure how it would go, but she seemed to enjoy it. She knew a few of the kids and one of the counselors from her dance class, which I am sure helped. Again, I'm impressed with how far she's come. Even as recently as the end of the school year she was having trouble with separation at drop offs, but camp has been pretty easy by comparison. It bodes well for September.

She shies away from anything competitive --sports, games-- but has a pretty wide range of interests. Books, music, art, animals, the outdoors, dress up and imaginative play are all things she enjoys. She loves playing family, doctor, veterinarian, dressing up, and reenacting stories with her brother. She has her one very best friend, and could pretty much take or leave most of the other kids she knows. My cousin is still one of her favourite people. As was her ECE. She is fiercely loyal.

She can read a number of sight words and sound things out, but says she cannot read. We need to work on this. She's right on that cusp and I think as soon as she has the confidence she'll take off. She was also showing a lot of interest in math towards the end of the school year, writing out different addition and subtraction equations. She loves art work, especially cutting and gluing. I took a few sewing classes in the spring and she assured me that she could teach me the things I still have yet to learn, like how to make her fancy dresses. lol.

She has grown a TON. Inches I am sure, but I don't have any updated stats. She's a little over 40lbs and maybe 44 or 45in... I'm really not sure. We just recently changed both kids out of car seats and into to high back boosters, which they were pretty excited about. She's solidly in size 5 clothing, and needing 6s in some things, though her waist is still so slender that pants can be tricky. Her shoe size is 11.5.

Thanks to Daniel Tiger, she's been pretty great about trying new foods and has been finding new "likes" all summer. Cherries, pineapple, quinoa. I'm not sure any are true LOVES, but I'm happy to have some extra options to add to our menu. (If only her brother would follow her lead.) She still suffers from reflux, but the medicine she's on seems to help significantly. Complaints about car sickness have also been bad, though she has yet to actually be sick in the car from it. Thankfully. We keep Dramamine on hand of long road trips.

She has a hard time falling asleep, but seems to generally go from 8pm to wake up time, which during the school year is 7/7:30, but has inched back a bit now that summer is here. Bedtimes have also been slightly off their 7:30pm time, so that may be impacting how late she stays in bed. She DOES NOT like to be woken up. We call her The Bear, because of how she will growl if you dare to disturb her.

There is far more I could say about Sprout, but I think that paints a pretty good picture of what she is like right now. I am really enjoying this age and seeing her continue to grow into an awesome kid.