Thursday, January 22, 2015

Liam is Seven


Liam is now seven years old and in first grade. He's in the high achiever class and is just so smart. There is something called a Rigby test where they asses what level you are at for reading. It ranges from 1-30 and Liam scored a 23 when he arrived in the class. His teacher told me they expect kids to be closer to 9 or 10 so she was very happy with that score. Recently, he took the test again and scored a 30. A 30. As in, she doesn't have to test him again because you can't get any higher. As smart as he is, we don't dote on him. This stuff comes easy to him so it's not really any big achievement. We've been emphasizing the process and praising the failures as much as we can with him. Being so naturally smart makes him kinda lazy. He gets frustrated quickly and gives up way too fast. I think it's working. He is picking up our lingo and learning that he can do just about anything but he has to practice and most likely fail and that's ok.

He's really analytical. He doesn't just memorize facts. He likes to understand them. He is constantly asking questions. To me, that's a sign of a critical thinker and that just makes me like... giddy and stuff. The other day he was telling me about his friend that I saw him practicing baseball with. He told me that his name was Kyle and when they are in school, Kyle gets in trouble a lot. I asked if Kyle was in his class and he said yes. After about of minute of silence he added, "Mom, you should have known Kyle was in my class by me saying that he gets in trouble at school. How else would I know that?".  Obviously, he just learned about inference. Brat. Also, he quoted Neil deGrasse Tyson the other day and I died.

As analytical of a thinker as he is, he is also quite the sports buff and social butterfly. I always had a little worry in me that he would just be the kid who was on his computer all the time and didn't interact with people or get out and exercise. Not that there is anything wrong with computer geeks (I happen to be one), but everything in moderation! He plays every sport. There has never been a sport he hasn't wanted me to sign him up in. He LOVES his teammates and classmates. He jokes and runs around with anyone that will play along. He also adores football. When I say he loves to watch football with his daddy, it's just such an understatement. Obviously, he loves having a thing that he does with his dad but it's more than that. He loves the game. And he talks the for the. whole. entire. game. He's basically like a sportscaster that states really obvious things. Like a sportscaster for the blind, maybe? He's at that great age where he actually knows a lot of what is going on but is also still convinced that "Daddy knows everything about football".

This is getting long and ridiculous, but one more thing. I can't talk about Liam without mentioning his sweetness. He is the sweetest, kindest, most loving boy I have ever known. He hugs and kisses me more times in a day than some people get in a year. He literally tells me I am the "most amazing, sweetest, cutest mommy" every single day. He gets super stressed out when I raise my voice to Livi or when Livi gets a little too lovey with the cat. He just wants everyone to be happy. Mission accomplished, kid. You've done it. You've made us very happy.

Liam's questions for age seven:

1. What is your favorite color? Green
2. What is your favorite toy? My microscope
3. What is your favorite fruit? apples and pears
4. What is your favorite tv show? Stampy's minecraft videos
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? chicken tenders
6. What is your favorite outfit? Minecraft shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Terraria and Minecraft
8. What is your favorite snack? Starbucks
9. What is your favorite animal? Elly (our cat)
10. What is your favorite song? Get Over It by OK GO
11. What is your favorite book? Quest to Find a Diamond Sword (Minecraft fiction)
12. Who is your best friend? Mason and Eli
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon toast crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Pee, just kidding. Play football.
15. What is your favorite drink? Water
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my ocelot
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes and waffles
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Legends
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Archeologist