Philip's First Report Card

Yesterday, we received Philip's first ever report card from his first year at preschool. :) Big proud mommy moment here. Now, he's only in school three mornings per week, and there are no actual grades here, just a formal, written way to let us know how he's doing. Nonetheless, I was so psyched to get it.

Our sweet boy is doing great in preschool and it's made such an impact on his social and emotional growth and development. We've noticed big, positive changes in him, just since September. The best part is that he always tells us how much he likes school and has fun there. How I would love for him to carry that attitude with him through his college years!

His gross motor skills see are a work in progress, but I wonder if he may have just been having an off day when they tested him on some of those things. He's been able to kick, catch, and bounce a ball for a long time now. He really does have no idea to gallop but, as my dad joked, that's okay, he still has months to practice before the Kentucky Derby. Ha! ;)

Also, he can count as high as 13. Wondering if he just got a case of the sillies and stopped at four during the evaluation. (I'm not so much defending his intelligence here as I am clarifying this information for my future self who will I'm sure one day believe he really could only count to four at three and a half years old. ;)

Over all I am just so pleased and tickled by his progress. I hope all of his report cards bring me such joy!

Role Reversal

I still maintain that, despite the hardships that come along with having two in diapers, having the boys two years apart was a blessing for many reasons. In the beginning, the most evident positive to having them so close in age was the fact that Philip was more or less oblivious and/or unphased by his new brother's arrival. Probably because he was practically a baby himself and his world wasn't all that big at the time. Regardless, the (only) smooth thing about our transition from one to two was how go-with-the-flow Philip was from day one. He's relished the big brother roll from the start... up until recently that is.

Whereas our youngest has been clammoring to be as big as Big Brother, as fast as possible, our eldest has recently decided that being a baby is where it's at! I know this is a pretty normal thing for older siblings to go through, but it caught me off guard, nonetheless. I was expecting this kind of regression in the beginning; not a year and a half into the game.

It's not as bad as it could be, thankfully. He's not at the point of intentionally wetting his pants or refusing to sleep in his bed, thank goodness. He's just doing a lot of baby talk and immitating Andrew with gesturing for things and making baby noises. He's also insisted lately that he can't walk and needs to be carried, even requesting to be held like a baby and rocked to sleep. Not entirely bad things, though. I have recently gotten into the habit of reminding myself that Philip is still only three years old, even if he is older than Andrew, and that I need to make sure I keep my expectations of him consistent with his young age. It can be so easy to expect more and more from the older sib as they naturally become more independent and eager to help!

So I have enjoyed some parts of this stage he's in. I like that he wants me to rock with him in the chair and sing him songs at night, a habit we had gotten away from in recent months. I know all too well that the time for cuddles and songs will soon be gone completely and I'll be begging for hugs! May as well enjoy this competition for my attention and affection while it lasts. :)