You are 7 years old today. Each year just flies past faster than the last and I'm just amazed we landed such an awesome boy in our family. You have your challenges, but I feel you are doing amazing things at school, at home, and at church. This particular birthday has been memorable because of the COVID-19 virus that has shut down schools and banned birthday parties, but you took it rather well.
You are well into first grade and I have seen amazing changes. Last year we struggled to do any reading or math. Well, something must have clicked because you really enjoy reading and can read words based on context. I just love it! You also have an "Excellent" grade in math from your last report card so you are grasping that well, too. Your absolute favorite subject is Science, particularly biology. I can totally see you doing something in that field as a career with how passionate you are.
And if we go even more specific, you love zoology. Animals all the time! They are your favorite thing to talk about and you jump around as far as your favorites. The animals that have had a solid place in your heart are hammerhead sharks, frogs (particularly the strawberry poison frog), and praying mantises. But you have gone through a penguin phase, jelly fish phase, cobra phase, Hercules beetle phase, and today you told me you wanted a box turtle. You love learning facts about all the animals! Life cycles, habitats, you just eat it up. And I'm an animal lover at heart, too, so I love learning along with you.
You are a growing boy! I recently had to order you new shoes and I need to put away the size 6 clothing. You also lost two teeth (not including the ones that got knocked loose and taken out)! We probably won't visit the doctor too soon because of the quarantine but you seem like a nice, healthy boy. You are starting to like new foods, like mushrooms. I'm so glad you are getting less picky, but you have your total favorite foods. You love lemonade, watermelon, green apples, olives, and I guess a lot of other fruits! I can always tell someone the things you love because of how passionate you are.
Some challenges you face are usually socially related. At school the speech therapist mentioned your problem with pragmatic speech. I can really see it. You don't use any pleasantries when speaking, but jump right in with whatever you are thinking about, especially with animals. It is hard to start and end with an "undesirable" topic and not stray. But you have made friends at school, and it makes me happy to hear you talk about friends again. Last year in school you had trouble keeping your hands to yourself but they haven't seen that issue this year and I'm so glad. Now to keep your hands to yourself at home!
Other things you like to do is draw, make books, and watch shows about animals and science. Your favorite shows include Wild Kratts, Mystery Doug, and Octonauts. Your favorite books are usually non-fiction books about animals. You got a lot of books for your birthday! We also got a book on how to take care of Praying Mantises so hopefully we can keep the ones we have alive. You named yours Pinchy and you love carrying it around. You also love watching our frogs hop around and climb.
One of the best things I've noticed is your knowledge in the gospel growing. You are grasping more and more concepts and read from the scriptures. We are a year away from being baptized so the next year will be a year of preparation. I love you! I love how sweet and giving you are. I love how the simple things make you happy. I can always take a leaf or two from your book Joey. The world is a brighter place since you came along.
Love,
Mom
