I blinked, and you're 7.

Dear Micah,

I blinked and it happened. You turned 7. No matter how hard I try to keep you from aging on me, you continue to do so. I asked you how you felt about turning 7 last night before bed, and you said "I'm kinda sad about not being 6 anymore." That made me smile, buddy. I think it's so great you have some semblance of nostalgia about your 6th year of life that you aren't over the moon excited about growing another year. (It reminds me that you also relayed your slight sadness over school being over and missing your teacher/classmates and the 5th graders on your bus). And now here we are, done with 1st grade, and moving on to 2nd in the fall. Second grade for sure sounds old. I think each grade will sound old when it comes to you because you're our pioneer buddy - you're the one who paves the way for your siblings and helps us see what to look forward to and where to hold reservations. Thank you for being so brave and taking on that role in the family without hesitation.

Speaking of school, 1st grade was a good year for you! You were gone ALL.DAY.LONG and that was a lot for me. It's the longest you had ever been gone from me and it took a bit of adjusting, but we made it! You had a great teacher this year who had her hands quite filled with your chatty class, but you had so many of your buddies in your class and I'm so happy you did. Your love of learning continued to grow this year and we watched you really excel in math. You are so bright kiddo - both your mommy and daddy have some math skills and you for sure are succeeding in that area as well - 99% on MAP testing all year long. I was even able to work with you and a small group of your classmates at school this year and I was quite impressed by your math abilities. Now if we could just get an increase in reading interests and we'd be all set 😏.

I will say there has been one reading development this year...you and Daddy have begun a nightly tradition of reading Harry Potter together before bedtimes 4-5 nights a week. It's been fun to find a story line you enjoy and also provides some bonding moments with you and Daddy that isn't sports or Marvels related 😉. You guys even FaceTimed last week while Daddy was gone for work to continue your nightly routine which made my heart happy. In addition to the reading for bonding moments, you have continued your love of sports which has made us all quite happy  (as there's no secret that both your parents are quite the sports enthusiasts!) Soccer and basketball top your list right now, as you desire to become professional athletes in both sports when you grow up 😊.

Last to share with you is your relationship with your siblings. I truly feel like much has stayed the same as last year. You and Reid still have a love/hate relationship that consists of laughter, fighting, whining and then laughter again. You and Gemma truly have a sweet bond, as she looks up to both of her brothers, but she also has a way of driving you crazy as I can imagine little sisters do, haha. At the end of the day though buddy, you are so so sweet to both of your siblings and would do anything for them. You are quick to make sure they're ok if they're crying or get hurt and you have moments where you just want to hug them and love on them. You have a big heart Micah and you've really grown up this year.

Probably our favorite thing to do is snuggle 😍. I just love it so much and feel like it brings us closely connected for just a few minutes of the day before the crazy ensues. Please always want to snuggle your mama, no matter how old you get! You're so special to me, Micah. You'll always be the one who made me a real-life Mama and I'm so thankful it was you! I love you to the moon and back sweet boy. Happy 7th birthday to my tooth-loosing, crazy 2nd grader (to-be)!

Love,
Mommy

(dr stats: height - 4'2.5", 88%; weight - 55.5lbs, 71%; BMI - 44%)