Theo is Five-and-a-Half

It kind of baffles my mind that Theo is already five-and-a-half (as of the end of March).  He teaches me so much on a regular basis.  Some days I feel like my work is done with him, and then others I remember he's just a little guy and should be allowed more grace to be little than I sometimes allow.  He can be very philosophical and seem so grown-up that when he does things that are totally age appropriate I find them sometimes frustrating me, but one thing is for sure, he's a gem.

Theodore is sensitive, artistic, caring, kind, and wild.  Theo's been very into superheroes, ninja turtles, and star wars this year.  While he definitely likes to throw on costumes and play pretend all around the house, I think he enjoys it mostly when Woodrow joins in on the fun.  They both just jump into imaginative play and it's so fun to watch.  It usually ends in tears over who lost the lightsaber battle, but they save their energy for next time.

Theo's really gotten much better at building with his legos.  He creates GREAT creations with the duplo legos and enjoys when he gets to play with his little legos.  The little legos are a special activity to do with Dad, mostly on the weekends and he has gotten better about creating his own design.  I totally need directions.  With the duplos he really makes elaborate scenes and so I don't mind that we seem to add those to our toy collection frequently. 

He continues to love books, which makes me so happy.  He frequently has books all over his bed and he wants to check out half the library when we make trips there.  Theo really wants to learn how to read, and we've started working on some sight words.  He also likes to write and so I'm frequently spelling out novellas for him to write and illustrate.  His recent book was a fairy tale about his bear named Robert who took a train on various adventures.  I love it! 

When Theo isn't building legos or reading a book, he's making art.  That's where the Theo expenditures come from: legos, books, and art supplies.  He is constantly drawing, scultpting, painting, etc...the boys pretty much have free rein of the art cabinet and I try to do guided crafts with them weekly, but he just could draw forever.  So, if you ever want mail, just let Theo know.  (Both boys also love to receive mail!)

This year Theo is in Preschool at Andersen Elementary School.  He just loves his teacher Mrs. Datu and the Classroom Aid Mr. Norman.   Preschool is 5 days a week for about 2.5 hours a day and that's not enough for our Theo.  He LOVES school and would go every day if he could.  I hope to encourage this forever.  They have treasurer day on Fridays, he gets to earn daily stickers for good behavior, they are always having dress-up parades and events.  Theo's best little pal Bryce, whom we carpool with is a hoot.  Bless these teachers because these kiddos are crazy!  Theo's really gotten a solid grasp on the alphabet (writing upper and lower case), he can almost count to 100 solo, but we're just happy he finally remembers to count 15 instead of counting 14, 16, 17.  He is doing great and we're so proud of him! 

Theodore joined Lion Scouts this year and attends two meetings a month.  He enjoys it, but I think we're all looking forward to Tiger Scouts next year where he can have a uniform and earn badges etc...He is also participating in a weekly tumbling class.  We definitely miss gymnastics from Minot and I'm not sure if we'll continue tumbling past June, but we'll see.  Theo's also in swimming lessons, but that's been so irregular that it's really unfortunate since I think he likes that the most. 

This sweet boy loves his brothers!  He is so sweet and gentle with Max and is a HUGE helper to me.  He's also really great with Woodrow, but they can also bicker quite a bit.  Theo enjoys riding his scooter, playing with friends, he really wants some nerf guns and a trampoline (they've already made it on his letter to Santa which he had to write in March).  Theo has a funny sense of humor, he says the funniest things, he's lost TWO teeth recently and he believes in all things magical.  He's had fun camping with Mason, likes guy time, playing his ipad, watching movies, he loves his teddy bear Robert.  His favorite place in Guam is GoPlay which has bouncy house things, but he enjoys our hikes and beach trips too.

I love this sweet boy of mine and I can't wait to watch him grow!