Every book is a children's book if the kid can read! - Mitch Hedberg


Saturday, December 21, 2019

Six Years

Kieran is six and sometimes I feel like he's sixteen, he's just very mature and responsible for his age.  He likes to open doors for people, is pretty polite, remembers to do his chores (and often times his brother's), is very affectionate, pretty independent, and when he puts his mind to something he usually is able to figure things out on his own. Don't get me wrong he drives me crazy some days and definitely has a mischievous streak but the problem is he knows how to use humor to get out of trouble or break the tension.


Kier loves his sleep and getting him up in the morning can be really hard - again I feel like he's a teenager! If he's overtired he definitely can be hard to reason with. Usually I can see when he's fading and do my best to get him somewhere that he can sleep. If that's not a possibility it's probably going to be a rough ride. K is loved by everyone. I always joke that I'm with a celebrity when I walk around town with him. Kids and adults often call across the street, wave, and run up for hugs from him. He just has one of those personalities that you want to be around and I love that we get the credit of being his parents.


Interesting Facts
Weight: 41 lbs

Height: 3' 10"

Clothing Size: It depends on the brand - some 5T items still fit him fine but for the most part XS big boys for shirt/jackets/PJs and Size 6 slim pants


Shoe Size: Little Kid 13 or Big Kid 1M depending on the brand

Kieran likes: Playing with Reed, drawing and art work, playing outside (bikes, soccer, baseball), time on his tablet, and reading.

Kieran dislikes: Anything that is left a mess, he is very particular about having things picked up and tidy. He also becomes very upset and disappointed in himself if he's caught doing something wrong.
Nicknames: Kier, K, K-Bug, Bug-a-boo, Bug, Monkey 2, Lovebug

Food: Kier is a pretty adventurous eater and will at least try most anything. His favorite foods are artichokes, parmesan cheese, yogurt, pizza, cheeseburgers, lasagna soup, quesadillas, pineapple, and grilled cheese. Starting Kindergarten this year means being able to get hot lunch and K usually chooses to do that 1-2 times per week. His favorite hot lunch is Galaxy Pizza. If he could pick anywhere to eat out it would probably be Bella Rose (on Thursdays because they have lasagna soup). He's not a huge fan of meat but will eat what is served to him. He loves all fruits and has a handful of vegetables he likes to eat raw dipped in salad dressing. Oh yes, and he LOVES sweets!

Communication: Kieran has blown us away with his reading. He can read almost anything we give him and regularly polishes off multiple books in one sitting. He doesn't seem to struggle much with sounding things out and has stopped reading out loud unless I tell him he has to. He was named the best reader in his class this fall.

Favorite Subject: He loves reading and has fun trying to figure out math problems.

Favorite Color(s): Blue and orange
 
Best Friends: Kieran and Lyla are still pretty inseparable. Presley, Jake, and Greg from his class he seems to play with a lot. Jeffrey and Mason go to his school and he is always excited when he gets to play with them. He also adores Connor and Rory and is really exited they might all get to go to the same school next year. Kieran adores Reed and for the most part they play really well together which is so sweet to see. He even told me knows he's lucky to have a brother that is his best friend.

How Reed is sleeping:  He goes to bed around 7:45 pm and sleeps until around 6:30 am most mornings. He sleeps in a twin bed, with a night light and sound machine, as well as his beloved Star Wars blankie. He doesn't take naps regularly anymore but if the kid is tired he will fall asleep wherever he is (car, dinner table, floor, etc.).
Milestones over the last year:
Kier had his first Happy Meal
He transitioned to a booster seat
K was invited to a school friend's Birthday party for the first time
Kieran now makes his own bed
He taught himself to snap and whistle
Kier felt an earthquake for the first time (7.1 Ridgecrest)
He can now tie his own shoes
K tried out two new sports - baseball (loved) and waterpolo (didn't love)
The Bug got to eat a school hot lunch for the first time
 

Sunday, December 15, 2019

October 2019 Happenings

The last couple of months have flown by and things don't look to be slowing down anytime soon! I'm doing my best to get caught up on updates before I get too behind. Other than the big Halloween party we had a lot of fun smaller events that filled out the month of October. Kieran and I started off by going to the Fresno Fair on a class fieldtrip. It was the first time they had taken the Kindergartners and it was chaos - I've never been so relieved to be done with a fieldtrip and so proud to have not lost a child!!! We saw a bunch of animals, including a newly born lamb, spotted our home town's produce display, and got to listen to live music.


On my Birthday, Pepe was presented with an award for his support of UC Davis over the years. It was a special event, and interesting to hear the speeches given by all the recipients (Pepe's got the most laughs). Grandma and Grandpa were sweet enough to stay with all four grandkids and by the time we got home Lyla was sound asleep in Kieran's room so we let her stay put which meant I got to get three kids ready for soccer games the next morning.






Speaking of soccer the month was filled with lots of games. Two kids plus one niece each having a game each weekend, boys and Jon having two practices a week, Jon playing in a coaches soccer game, and me being on the soccer board means soccer was definitely a dominate player in the month.









Grandma and Grandpa hosted a Birthday dinner for me. The boys (with Jon's help) made an awesome Birthday cake and G Momma was able to join us.





We made a quick stop by the pumpkin patch to take a ride on the steam train, attempt to get some pictures of the boys, and let them each pick out a pumpkin. Kieran was in a horrendous mood and after a few attempts I gave up on getting any good pictures of him.











After the pumpkin patch we went to Nonna and Pepe's to celebrate Gran's Birthday. I think I was so annoyed with Kieran at this point I just stopped taking pictures because unfortunately I only have a few from dinner.



Towards the end of the month we celebrated Eli B's 5th Birthday at an indoor trampoline venue. The boys could have jumped all day and were bummed when it was time to leave.





The day before Halloween we headed back to the pumpkin patch with Kieran's class. It's great having Lyla and K in the same class, especially because C and I get to work in the classroom and go on fieldtrips together!





The next day I joined Kier's class to walk around downtown Kingsburg and trick or treat at all the local businesses. They asked the students to dress up as their favorite book character. Kieran asked if I would dress up as Dogman and he would dress up as Petey (the bad guy in the stories). It was a lot of fun and so neat to see how many of the businesses participated. Unfortunately Reed had to stay home sick on Halloween and so he missed out trick or treating at the grandparents' houses that evening. He sweetly told Kieran he could go without him and Kieran nicely brought back lots of treats for Reed.








October was also filled with other dress up days, a ladies night out to celebrate the almost here Johnson baby, Jon's 20th high school reunion, the boys getting to have one of their best friends carpool with us one morning, Kieran winning a top reader award and being announced with his teacher at a high school football game, and lots of other fun moments.