Kid Updates

Chase at 6.5 years old:

• He's such a reader. We will get 5 chapter books from the library and he's done with them in 5 days. The funny thing is, it's not like his nose is in a book all day long. He plays and plays all day, and then sits down for quiet time or bedtime and just devours books. I love it.
• I stressed a lot about what to do with him and school next year. He was tested, and then accepted into the PALS program in our school district. This is an accelerated program for the top students in each grade level. His scores came back very high (which we knew they would) and he was accepted into the program, but it would mean changing schools (only three schools in the district offer the program) and from the research we'd done we didn't LOVE the program. We knew Chase would be fine either way, but it was hard to let an opportunity pass by. Ultimately, we talked to his school teacher and my mom, who had similar advice- he's thriving where he is. He'd thrive in PALS too. But he's so smart, he gets along with the kids his age, and he's motivated to keep learning. Chase has loved Creekside this last year (and we have too) and so we decided to just keep him there- and we actually feel really good about it. I'm hoping he'll be blessed with another teacher who will help push him and keep him engaged, and we will continue to do enriching activities at home and I think he will be just fine.
• Has a serious mind for numbers. One day, out of the blue he asked me, "Mom, did the Titanic sink 99 years before I was born?" I had to have him remind me exactly when the Titanic sunk (1912) and then told him he was right. He responded with "Yeah, that makes sense because the Titanic sunk 105 years ago and I'm 6." He's good at math because the way numbers works makes sense to him. Also, we may be measuring all time from "how many years since the titanic sunk."
• Has learned the importance of being inclusive. He is naturally this way, always wants to have anyone join in the fun. But a few experiences with other kids leaving him or others out has cemented in his mind that it's important to be inclusive. I love this about him.
• Finally lost his first tooth! He chipped his front teeth as a toddler, and one of them started turning grey in June. Then it started hurting him. So the dentist pulled it! He said that the permanent tooth isn't anywhere close to coming in, so he'll likely have a hole there for a year (or longer). But Chase didn't care. He was so excited to finally lose a tooth and have the tooth fairy come!

Hudson at 4.5 years old:

• Has the most creative imagination. He has these little stuffed animals that he plays with all the time. We have birthday parties for them frequently and they all have assigned genders, ages, and personalities and he stays very consistent with it. (Bear is a boy, is 2 and sleeps in a hammock Hudson makes on their bunkbed. Raccoon is 4 and he cheats, fox is also 4, a girl and she lies. Monkey is a girl, she's 29 and she's the one who makes all the birthday cakes for the parties. Seamore is a little seal, she's a girl and if you ask him when she was born he says "I switched out her birthday so now it's March 1.)
• Still naps 5-6 days a week, for a good 2-3 hours in the afternoon. But he'll tell you "I do okay without a nap now" because we have 1:00 church so he skips his nap on Sundays. Sometimes that means we have a really, really ornery Hudson on Sunday evenings though. When we are out and about and don't have time for a nap he does just fine though.
• Hudson has blown me away with his love, attitude and helpfulness for Davis. He will do anything I ask if it's for Davis. He loves to hold him and is so sweet to him. Becoming a big brother has really brought out the best in Hudson in the best way.
• He got some little airline wings when we flew home from Washington DC in May and he wears them every single day! It's just part of getting dressed for him to add his airline pin.

Davis at 4 months:

• Smiling is his favorite. And ours.
• He gets distracted while nursing and just has to smile at me. It's really the best.  He also does really well with bottles and I've been able to pump pretty well this time around- so I can actually leave for short amounts of time and he does just fine! We try to do a few bottles a week just to keep him used to them. 
• Loves sitting up in the bumbo. We put him in the middle of the table during meals and I think he loves to be part of things. He's a very social baby.
• Mostly down to three solid naps a day, a morning nap, early afternoon and evening. He can stay awake for about 2 hours in between naps. He's doing much better with this nap schedule.
• At his 4 month doctor appointment (which we did a week late) he weighed 11 pounds 12 oz and was 23 inches. This puts him in the 1 percentile for height, and not even on the growth chart for weight. He's super tiny. The doctor was concerned about it and I've been drinking this gross "mothers milk tea" to help boost my milk supply. He's generally a happy, thriving baby, except that his growth is so slow. Chase was the exact same way at this age, we makes me not worry too much about it. 
• At 4.5 months we started him on solids. He just seemed hungry and ready. I agonized over starting him that early, but it ended up being the best decision for him. We started with peaches (which he loved!) then added rice cereal, then avocado, then butternut squash. Peaches are clearly his favorite.
• We went back after two weeks to check his weight, hoping he'd have gained 8 oz, and he'd gained 12 oz!