A. His Schedule – He likes to sleep in and stay up late. In the summer (a school-free and low-stress time), he's been going to bed at 9 p.m. (sometimes even later) and waking at 8:15 a.m., then leaving for camp at 8:30 a.m. He doesn't want to go to bed alone so he'll frequently try to convince his dad and that we should go to bed when he does.B. His Size – He's wearing size 7 clothes and size 1.5 shoes (size 1 soccer cleats though).
C. His Personality – It's so hard to pin doesn his personality since he's a complicated guy. At heart, I think he's a good person, but he feels his emotions strongly, and sometimes his actions don't match his heart. He's funny, creative, motivated, and clever, but also defensive and skeptical.
D. His Favorite Things
- Colors: His favorite colors are red, rainbow, and gold.
- Shows and Movies: He likes watching Aphmau and other YouTube gamers. He still likes Troll Hunters. He tries to avoid liking anything that his younger sister enjoys watching.
- Books: His learning to read is delayed, likely due to a learning disability such as Dyslexia. He currently likes being read a book about pirates.
- Toys and Play: He had a watergun-themed birthday party, so I'd say he likes waterguns/waterballoons in addition to Nerf guns. He really wants to build things. He keeps wanting me to search for "buiding supplies" on Amazon.
- Art: He likes creating art. He uses a lot of colors when he does. He built a pretty interesting shark out of Model Magic clay this week.
- Activities: He is an active guy except for when he is on his computer, in which case he hyper-focuses. In addition to video games, he likes to swim.
- Time of Day: I'd say he's a night owl.
- Bedding: He likes sharing my fleece blanket which is super soft and has rainbow ice cream cones on it. Yesterday, he received a blue tie-dye fleece blanket that he likes. We're still in the habbit of using only blankets and fitted sheets without flat sheets (aka top sheets).
- Clothing: He is somewhat creative with his clothing, prefering to stand out. Today he wore an orange long-sleeved flannel button-up shirt to soccer. In summer. I think he chose it simply because he was sure that no one else would be wearing anything similar.
- Foods: He's a pretty picky eater but some things he likes are milk, fruit, chips, spaghetti, and rice. He used to like fries but even those have lost some appeal for him.
- Animals: He likes our pets, especially our cat. He will make our pet rabbit a "bunny salad" (it's mostly lettuce and carrots). He hugs our dog. I don't know if he has a "favorite" animal but I'll ask him.
- Heroes/Characters: The Hulk. Definitely The Hulk. Sometimes he gets to play as Hulk in the Lego Avengers video game we have for the XBox. I think he likes Iron Man too.
E. Things He Does Not Like – He would rather lead than follow. So, I'd say "following" is disliked. I think he enjoys being a contrarian - he still dislikes pizza and chocolate. I think he knows that he's not catching on with regard to reading as much as his classmates (the school told us he seems to "be aware") and I think that bothers him deeply.
F. What He’s Thinking About – In his free time, when he's not deeply involved in his laptop or with the TV or XBox, he likes to think about buiding a Nerf base in our yard. It makes me sad to think that this will never become a reality for him - he's not going to be seven forever and eventually he'll grow out of this dream before we have the bandwidth and money to make it happen.
G. Surprises – It's somewhat surprising just how different each one of my kids' personalities is from the others. I would say that he gets along best with his older brother (SeriousKiddo) and gets along least well with his younger sister (Rosie). She says he's "so mean" to her, but really I think it's just that he wants to control her, and like any headstrong lady, she opposes this.
H. Best & Worst Things –
- The best thing(s): He seems to like/love me. And he doesn't mind showing it. I know eventually, there will be a period where he distances himself from me (does it happen at 11? or 10?), but right now, he seems to think I'm cool enough to hang out with, even in front of his friends.
- The worst thing(s): I wish he could read like his classmates. I know that he'll find professional success eventually - he's too smart not to. But the feeling of being "less than" is probably pretty painful for him.
I. Family and Friends – I feel weirdly unmoored to this area at this point. Some of my closest friends have moved away. I spend less time with my folks than I used to. I love our street and our neighbors. But at the same time, I long for a larger house that I can customize (it's hard to justify customizing a rental, e.g. paying to have the rooms painted). I don't know how to get to feeling a stronger sense of community both for myself and my kids. Is moving the answer? Or do I just have to lean in a little more? I've leaned in plenty over the years, but people always wind up moving away or getting too busy just the same. There's a community pool that I could join that might help? But it's so very expensive. And I could join the PTA. But that just seems like a fundraising operation, and I have very little to give in the way of funds or time right now.
J. Parenting or What I’m Doing Differently – I would say that the older I get, the more chill I get as a parent. At this point, very little phases me. I'm also a lot less apologetic about making parenting choices that I believe are the best for my kids, even if those choices are inconvenient for other people.
K. Milestones – He's about to lose his first tooth. It's pretty darned jiggly.
