6 years old

 I don't even know where to begin in talking about my 6-year-old Ryan.  I have been loving this age way more than I ever thought I would.  As the kindergarten year has gone by, Ryan continues to gain more and more confidence, and it has been a joy to watch.  

 

Ryan is kind, thoughtful, and loving.  He still tells me many times a day that he loves me, and I am dreading the day when that changes.  He really cares about people and has been showing a lot of empathy lately, which is such a huge step after those baby/toddler/preschool years of almost complete self-centeredness.  

 

Ryan has been thriving in kindergarten.  It helps that he has had the most incredible teacher I could have ever hoped for.  He has come way out of his shell this year, to the point where we are now calling him an extrovert, which is shocking to the two introverted parents who used to have a very shy, quiet toddler.  He loves to be around people - especially his friends - and it really seems to make him crazy when he is forced to spend too much time on his own.  In typical first-born fashion, he still desires to be entertained at all times, and kindergarten has been very helpful for that :)  

 As I think is true of most 6-year-olds, Ryan is also completely goofy and, at times, out of control.  When he does "go crazy," as I've taken to calling it, he seems to lose all of his good judgment, and it can be amazing the things he'll do without thinking when he's normally quite well-behaved and good at following rules.  Thankfully it doesn't happen too often, and that's when the Legos in his room come in particularly handy :)

 

Ryan is officially a reader.  After a slow start, one day it just seemed to click, and he has been steadily improving ever since.  It's such fun to see his confidence grow and for him to start asking if he can read to me instead of me forcing him to do it for practice.  It also comes in quite handy for entertaining his little brother, since books are Ethan's favorite things.

 

Math would have to be his favorite subject in school, and the math genes on both sides of the family seem to be coming through strong.  Lately, he's been working on multiplication and loves to have us quiz him.  Writing seems to be his biggest challenge.  He just doesn't seem to enjoy doing it very much, and he gets frustrated because he wants things to be spelled correctly but most of the time doesn't know how to yet.  I will say, though, that my favorite days are when his journal comes home from school and I get to see his drawings and read what he's written... Mason and I often get quite a few laughs both from content and execution :) 

This year, we signed Ryan up for his first sports.  Our county has a great program called "Start Smart", and they offer 6 week sessions for soccer (fall), basketball (winter), and baseball (spring).  It's been nice to introduce Ryan to some organized athletics, and he seemed to enjoy them fine but didn't latch onto anything.  What he does love are his swimming lessons, which we have started back up this spring.  He is very confident in the water and really seems to love learning new skills. 

Ryan has become Mason's little side-kick.  He loves his mommy, but he wants nothing to do with me when Daddy is around.  It is sweet to watch their relationship develop as they bond over board games as well as video games.  

Ryan also adores his brothers, and he is a great big brother.  He's been a big help to me this year, keeping Ethan entertained when I need to cook dinner or just run upstairs to grab something.  When Ethan's upset, "Ry Ry" can almost always make him feel better.  He really is great with babies in general and he loves helping out with younger kids and making them smile.  We still have to calm his enthusiasm quite often, but it's always fun to see him relating to kids of all ages. 

 

Ryan loves anything involving computers/screens (especially video games with Daddy and playing DreamBox - a math game - on the computer).  He loves swinging on the tire swing and riding his bike.  Otherwise, he'd really rather not be outside unless he has friends to play with.  He still likes building, especially with Lego (stay tuned for his Lego themed birthday party!), and he loves dancing too.

 

Ryan does not like having to do things on his own (unless there is a screen involved), being bored, spending a lot of time outside, being bored, long car rides (think being bored), waiting (again, being bored) - do you see a trend?  :)

I'm so very proud of all that Ryan has accomplished this year and the ways he has grown in his character.  He continues to be a joy to parent, and I can't wait to see what the coming year will bring.