Height: 37.25″
Weight: 34 lbs (according to the Wii)
Vocabulary: Enormous. I literally have no idea how many words this child knows. He pulls out new ones all the time and I’m frequently flabbergasted. People often mistake him for a four-year-old, and I think it’s because he’s a talker.
Gross motor skills: Walks like a human. Runs like a toddler and/or duck. Can ride his balance bike (SLOOOOOWLY). Can pedal a tricycle (on level ground or downhill). Just recently (like last week) learned to jump with both feet. Alternates feet going upstairs. Obsessed with the idea of jumping rope, can’t even begin to do it. Loves throwing things. Can’t catch a ball, but getting closer.
Fine motor skills: Can draw pretty well, and loves to (especially with a pen). Writes recognizable letters. Has trouble with screw-top lids, but has mastered doorknobs. Can rotate puzzle pieces to fit.
Literacy: Knows all letters + one sound and reference word for each. Can read a very little bit (“pig,” “dog,” “Elmo”). Can listen to fairly long and complex books, if in the right mood.
Numeracy: Can recite numbers to about nineteen, depending on the day. Says “five-teen,” which I adore. Can count objects up to around twelve. Adds and subtracts one (like, “If we have three apples and I eat one, how many do we have?”). Can count backward from about five.
Pattern recognition: Matches objects and colors (and remarks on them). Notices rhymes, alliteration, prosody, and semantic relationships (“A track is part of a train”).
Imagination: Loves pretending, acts out scenarios with “little guys,” adores puppets.
Media: Obsessed with Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. None of these are super annoying. Daniel Tiger is boring as all get-out, but it teaches great social skills stuff, and he applies those lessons in his life. Highly recommend. He loves movies, especially Miyazaki. He’s very excited about music of all kinds, singing along and dancing all day.
Social Skills: Silas is a total extrovert. I try to get him out somewhere with other kids at least every other day. He loves going to the park (his favorite is Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton, which is a rare treat, given the distance). He adores the Children’s Museum, the Library, and Sunday School. He talks constantly about his friends, and actually is starting to play collaboratively with them. He says “please” without having to be reminded (mostly), and offers spontaneous “thank yous.” He’s very interested in other people’s emotions, frequently asking if someone is sad. When he’s not tired, he’s pretty good at sharing toys.
Food: Not as adventurous an eater as he used to be, but getting better. We’re trying not to make A Thing out of it.
Behavior: He’s going through something of an ornery phase right now. There are some afternoons when I just want to quit this Mom thing. But mostly, he is totally great. He’s loving and kind, sweet with Petra, and funny. Except when he’s not.
It’s hard to believe it’s been three years already. I realized the other day that roughly 15% of his time living with us is over. That seems like a lot. How does everything move so fast?
It seams that 16.6% is more accurate, but you were never very skilled with numbers.
I said “roughly.”
Not to mention, if he, for example, decided to do an internship some place the summer after his senior year, he’d leave us when he was 17.75 years old (incidentally, the same age at which I left home), which would push it closer to 17%.
Also, “seams” are the things that hold your garments together; “seems” is the verb meaning “appears to be.” But you were never very skilled with words. 🙂
You know, he COULD follow the national trend of not leaving home until later, which could make it more like 10% 😉
As much as I can’t imagine him leaving home, I sure hope he does at some point! 🙂