Kip turned 7 1/2 yesterday and you all know how we enjoy celebrating the minor (but major) halfs in this house. February is such a dull month, we have to hit all the high notes that exist!
Kip 7 1/2 Years
Personality: Smart, imaginative, charmer
I cannot believe we are nearly to eight! Eight feels SO big to me. AHHHHHHHH! My baby! Of course, Kip is excited about getting older and bigger - as most kids are. He is a voracious sponge for information and learns SO much every day. But, he is still a kid with all the kid interests and behaviors. Thank goodness for that.
Milestones of 7 1/2
Learning to bike with no training wheels
NO bed rail! Can you believe it! Kip, the constantly moving sleeper is finally not falling out of the bed
Lost both his front teeth (I love it, I love it, I love it!)
This is funny...he can finally eat pizza normally (he used to require it to be cut)
Buckling and unbuckling himself in the car
Zipping his own coat
Putting gloves on independently
Putting socks on independently
(the above skills that seem very basic but slow for Kip to master were delayed not because he wasn't capable but merely because he was too stubborn to try - we are still developing that growth mindset)
School
For every basic skill that seems slow to evolve, all the higher level functions are off the charts. Kip is a whiz. Dan and I are never strict about academics, we were both raised as average students. We expect the same for Kip and Ivy. But what we discovered from the moment Kip started school was that as long as someone else is teaching him (not Mom, Dad, or Mimi), Kip takes to academics very quickly and excels almost immediately. He is above grade level in all subjects and even earned the leadership award in his classroom. In fact most of the time, he's feeling bored and lacking challenge. He fills his extra class time after he finishes his work reading books that are for 10+ and drawing pictures of dragons and robots. His favorite subject is math but he is also very interested in science. Also at school, this month he started participating in the after school rehearsals for the district musical production of Matilda Jr. which is fun!
2nd grade has been a really good year so far for Kip. Fantastic teacher, great class, good friends, and a fun environment - overall fabulous and we are grateful for that.
Social
Always the social butterfly, Kip is surrounded by friends. This year he has a little group of gal pals in his class. They sit together at lunch and play together at recess. Three girls + Kip. It's super cute. He is still friends with plenty of boys at school but his close circle at the moment is a sweet little gaggle of girls.
One other boy in his class gives him a hard time for having so many "girlfriends" and sometimes that makes him self-conscious but for the most part, he doesn't mind and neither does anyone else. Kip and his friends play imaginative games at recess and they are all chatter boxes. Personally, I'd rather he be friends with girls at this age because I know co-ed friendships are super hard to form in later years when everyone starts gossiping about crushes.
Although Kip claims one of his school buds as his "best friend," I would argue that Ivy is actually his best friend at the moment. They are really sweet playmates for each other lately and mostly supportive and loving siblings. Kip is a protector and such an amazing big brother to Ivy. I am really grateful they have each other.
Interests
Remember
our little train loving Kippy? Gosh I miss him. Trains are long gone
and have been replaced by dragons and magical worlds of robots and
warriors. Kip has been on his dragon kick for over a year now and still
going. He's decorated the walls of his room with his drawings of dragons
and other beasts and is currently reading a book he picked himself
called The Last Dragon on Mars. He loves reading fiction but his
preference is for non-fiction books about animals and seems to memorize
bizarre facts about animals after one read. The other day he told me
"I'm sorry I'm mature, mom, but I just want to know everything." Ha!
He still loves Legos and enjoys Star Wars and Harry Potter (but is not a super fan of either). He is getting into action films more and more and especially likes Sonic 3
right now. Kip loves to draw and write and has a very creative mind -
even tried out stop-motion videos. He continues to use building elements
in a lots of his play so we still have Duplos and Magnatiles around all
the time. Right now he is into playing "city" with Ivy and they set-up a
city with their toys and he acts out battle scenes with myriad of
character toys. He enjoys Nerf, slime, Treasure X toys and Beast Lab. He
is still participating in Ninja Gym once a week which he loves
Things I want to remember about Kip at age 7 1/2
Reading aloud the Wild Robot trilogy and Harry Potter to him before bed
Our evening "chats"
Making cities with Ivy
His gappy grin and missing teeth
shhh...don't tell him I told you...but he's a bit of a Brony
Learning to navigate friendships and a bit of girl drama
Decorating his room with handmade drawings and copious amounts of tape
Writing his first "book"
Expelliamus Fireball!
Browsing at Target and Walmart
Starting to be an adventurous eater
Tuna sandwiches and mini Doritos
His "go fast" button
I'm really hoping to squeeze and treasure the next six months of 7-year-old Kip. Eight is just TOO big.
