Theo at Six: And a Cheetah Party

To usher in being six years old, Theodore decided to wake up at 5:00 with me and is currently working on his 249 piece Lego set he received yesterday for his birthday.  Neither of us could get back to sleep, so we may as well get some work done.  Being an early riser is a trait Theo and I share.  We have a lot of weekend mornings together while Eli and daddy sleep in.  Unfortunately, Theo also seems to be taking after me in the temper department (without the redhead excuse), in his running abilities (or lack of), and in his dedication to his "shows".  But, at least he's also taking after me in his quick math abilities, which should be helpful since he still professes the want to be a builder when he grows up (hence the two hundred and forty nine piece Lego set he needs almost no assistance with).  It made my heart sing a little when he got his first report card and his highest "grade" is in mathematics.

 And here are some fun numbers while we're talking math.  Theodore is twice as old as Eli, and twelve times as old as Thomas.  He is 1/3 of the way to college (!!).  He's now been with me more than 1/5 of my life.  Since he is in a mixed age class of 5 to 7 year olds, he isn't the largest always but is a sturdy 48 inches and 60+lbs.  He is still in size 1 shoes, so at least his feet took a break from growing.  He isn't the most athletic kid (like his parents), so he dreams of having the speed of a cheetah, (65 mph).

Theo is officially a big boy now.  All the softness to his chubby baby face is gone, as is the softness to his personality. I can describe it best by saying he has sharp edges now.  It's not so much that he is headstrong as much as it is that he is always in his own little world. And being told to alter his world (turn off a favorite show, asked to slow down, and being told he can't do things) causes immediate little fits of anger.  And add a little brother who has his own ideas and contributions while they are playing and there is a lot of bickering between the the two.  I say that it is easier to have the 6 month old and 3 year old both, than to have Theodore.  It's like the temperature of the house raises several degrees every time when he comes home from school and my blood pressure increases.  He is just a bit of a fireball to have around.

But when it's just him (and electronics aren't around), he's still a pretty great kid.  He seems to be navigating school well, and doesn't consider himself one of the "bad kids".  Most days he says are "pretty good".  Packing or buying lunch is a pretty important part of his day.  He gets very excited to pick out new library books, and likes art as well.  He would rather learn science and nature info all day, rather than learning to read and write (though he is excited for first grade, when they only have to use one finger space when writing instead of two), so most of his favorite shows and Kindle apps help with this.  He was recently assigned to study an animal and make a diorama for school, so he's been researching the cheetah.  We ended up designing his birthday party around cheetahs, giving him a cheetah cake and visiting the zoo for the day with both his grandmas, Aunt Nae Nae and grandpa.  Luckily, they were out, and he even got to watch a cheetah gnaw on a carcass as the zoo has began feeding the lions and cheetahs carcasses.  Watching the lionesses really go after theirs was pretty neat.  And Theodore was kind not to mention that that napkins and plates I found were actually leopard spots, and not cheetah.  The things I've had to learn since having all boys...

*Sorry so late... took a while to get the photos on here.*

Teeth Update:  2 gone (Feb. 17)