Happy 7th birthday, Joshua!

Joshua turned seven years old on Wednesday, September 18, 2013. At his doctor's appointment that Friday, his stats were:

Height: 4'.05" (60%)
Weight: 53 lb (61%)
BMI: 15.84 kg/m2 (59%)

He is certainly growing! He now will try most foods (even if he doesn't necessarily "like" them or the idea of them, he will give them a chance). He is much less picky than he once was and will eat what we make for Shawn and me and actually enjoy it.

As you can tell, his grown up teeth are coming in. At his last dentist check-up, they said they're waiting for only a couple more before they will refer us to see an orthodontist.

There are so many days that we treat Joshua like an adult. We expect him to do the right thing, to obey what we ask, to make good choices. But, then there are days that I realize that he's still a little kid. Seven seems so old to us since we have younger ones, but he's still little! Every once in awhile I'll see him in his little PJs and think "my baby!"

Joshua LOVES school. I mean, he really, really loves school. He enjoys the social aspect of being with all his friends. He always says that his favorites are phys. ed. and lunch/recess. He loves to play! They have outdoor recess almost every day (unless the wind chill is below zero or the rain is so hard you can't see). He really enjoys it. We'll ask him what he did and he'll say he played with his friend Macy (a little girl who wrote him what I would call a "love note") or he played a variation of kick ball with his friends that are boys.

Shawn & I had the opportunity to meet with his teacher at Back to School Night, and she said that Joshua is doing well in school. He and another little girl were at the top of the class as far as math is concerned (which we were worried about, that he might be falling behind! Ha!). They only have 20 levels of math to "beat" in first grade, and he's completed 15 of them. He always gets not only the regular words for spelling tests, but it's also "mandatory" for him to learn all the challenge words. He does very well with spelling. But, it's reading that I'm the most impressed with. He reads very fluently and is on the highest level in the class. The teacher said he's the only boy in the class to be at that level. He's in a "WIN" group (What I Need) that focuses on what the story means rather than things like phonics, etc. He enjoys the reading and the books he brings home each night to read to us. Now they're working on re-telling the story with exact details. He'll sometimes go off on tangents or let his own imagination add to the book, but he does well in general with writing and reading. I'm so glad school is "easy" (or at least easy enough!) for him. The teacher told us that she doesn't normally say things that other kids say, but she thought the one comment was so cute that she had to share. She said "One of the parents came in and said 'My child came home and said they wish they were smart like Joshua - who's Joshua?" We thought it was sweet.

And that's not to say he's perfect by any means. She did have things he could work on. He is so boisterous and loud that she needs to remind him of the volume. She said that a new girl came to school and that she often wants to talk with Joshua; and while Joshua is normally very good at obeying the rules, he has a hard time not talking with the girl even when the teacher is talking if she initiates a conversation. I can so relate to my little buddy! Self control is difficult even at my age, let alone his. But, it's good things for us to speak about with him and for him to work on.

Joshua loves to play electronics, too. He understands how computers work and iPads and the Wii and can work most things better than me already. We struggle with knowing how to best limit this time and yet encourage the positive aspects of it and not make it seem so desirable that it's all he wants to do. He loves his Mario characters (stuffed animals) and plays with them, he loves to make his own "YouTube" videos (even if they don't make it online) while he's playing, and he does enjoy being outside. When we get him to participate in family activities like games and crafts, he also enjoys them. But it takes awhile for him to think that he wants to do these activities with us since he's "older" than the other kids.

Joshua has really made huge improvements in his level of independence this year, too. The one day I forgot to look at his lunch calendar and discuss what choices there were. When he got home, he said "that's okay, I just looked at the calendar at school and made my choice." He wasn't rattled at all, and I had worried and feared all day he might not eat! The fourth day of school, I got stuck on the phone with a client and missed Joshua's dismissal from school. He walked home by himself and came in the front door. I almost cried I was so upset that I had lost track of time. He looked at me like I was being silly. "Mom," he said, "it was fine! I saw the other parents and walked home with one of my friends. We live so close! It's not a big deal at all." And it wasn't. Really, they don't let parents cross the street to get the kids. They have to cross by themselves and come to us. So, he's walking all of two houses, and he does have a friend in first grade who walks right by our house on her way home. All of our neighbors are really sweet, too, and we kind of keep an eye out for each other. So, it wasn't a big deal. But, he has my personality type that gets rattled easy when there's a change in our routine. But, he's growing more calm and able to think through situations and realize that they aren't a problem.

When Joshua woke up on his seventh birthday, he said "I think I'm a little taller today!" Shawn & I both smiled. We are so proud of the little man Joshua is becoming. He really is a neat kiddo! Happy birthday, my little 7-year-old man.