The Boys

Sometimes I casually refer to the male children in our family as "the boys". One male child finds this grouping a little insulting, and insists that "the boys" should mean James and Matthew exclusively. I haven't decided where I stand on the issue, though I certainly understand both sides.

Matthew was a little droopy after preschool yesterday. I could tell it was going to be a napping sort of quiet time, but only if I nudged it along. Napping quiet times are blissful for the both of us. So, I decided we had a couple long errands to run and ta-daaaaaaa!

Sometimes I get my wish.

Yes, that is Matthew in a swim suit and winter coat. He managed to find a sleeping position that doesn't flop him around at every turn and stop light. Hooray for semi-conscious physics!

And then there is James. I am 9 whole hours behind on my goal to spend 40 hours of one-on-one time with him. As a middle child, it's hard to get him all by himself. He's either clumped into whatever Matthew is doing, or clumped into whatever Robert and Alice are doing. We will be taking an outing to the Indianapolis Zoo in a couple weeks, and I may have a camp out in the backyard with him soon.

He's a different kid all by himself than he is with his siblings around. I totally, totally get that. Did you know that his teacher gave him a 4 for social-emotional learning this last quarter? That means he's performing above and beyond grade level expectations for sharing, conflict resolution, managing frustration, expressing himself, and being a good citizen in class. My James? Really?! That tells me a lot about him. It demonstrates that he is completely and totally aware of the people around him, their hot buttons, their moods, and everyone's expectations of him in those situations.

I love, love, love that he's socially aware and capable of acting appropriately. I can work with that. It's only a matter of teaching/practicing self-control from here on out. Whew.

Listening in from the outside as we wait for Alice at the skating rink.

Robert is all about video games right now. He plays "educational" games at school and during his screen time at home. He's an avid reader, too, and really into the Percy Jackson series. I'm completely in love with his developing sense of humor. Personality-wise, he's an interesting conglomeration of rational, proactive logic and unfiltered outbursts of raw emotion. Alice was a little like that at this age.

Peeking out of his block fort