Thursday Thirteen (on Friday)...Noah edition

Today is Noah's last day as a second grader. It has been such an amazing year of growth for him, like it is every year. He has come so far. He has become so introspective this year. He thinks things through so thoroughly (when he wants to) and comes up with some of the most amazing ideas.

Here are 13 ways my amazing boy has changed this year.

1. He got glasses, which made a HUGE difference in how he sees the world. I am still amazed at the difference they make to him.

First day of school

2. He lost three baby teeth and all of his grown up ones in front have come in, making him look way more grown up

3. He loves sharing what he learns in church every week, and I find him trying to apply it during the week.

4. He loved his teacher this year. Even when he got in trouble, which wasn't very often compared to previous years, he sang her praises for being fair.

5. He has become a wonderful author. He spends a lot of time writing "paragraphs" which really are poetic and thought provoking. He now says he may want to be an author when he grows up.

6. He learned cursive. He was so excited to learn this skill that his regular handwriting went from a sloppy quick mess to very neat handwriting with great sentence structure in just three last few weeks of school.

7. He is starting to learn discernment. Last year he went right along with the "naughty" kids while they were making bad choices. This year, those same kids were given detentions numerous times and Noah was not part of it a single time. He is finally learning to make wise choices in whom he wants to spend time with.

Last day of school

8. He went through three ranks in his first six months of scouting. Unlike every other activity we have tried with him, he has stuck with cub scouts, continues to enjoy it, and looks forward to continuing.

9. He is learning to read his body when it needs to be fed. In past years, food was a fight, both to get him to eat at all, as well as to try new things. This year, he learned to recognize when his body didn't feel right and come to me or a teacher and ask to eat something.

10. He learned to ice skate and roller skate comfortably without any adult guidance.

11. He has learned that reading is actually an activity that one does for ENJOYMENT, not because he HAS TO. He has gone from reading simple chapter books with pictures to much more advanced literature.

12. He grew several inches physically. I wish I had measured him on the first day of school. I will definitely do that from now on. He went through two sizes of pants and at least one size of shoes this year. It won't be long until he's looking down on his little Mama.

13. Even though he's grown so much, he still begs me for snuggles when I come home at night. Now that he has a loft bed, I can't just lie in bed with him anymore. But he delights in climbing down out of his bed and crawling into my lap for some some special bonding time. I like it too!

I'm out of numbers and there's still so much more. Oh well. As you can see, 2nd grade was wonderful for Noah this year. I hope we will have a great summer and I hope his love of learning and knowledge continues next year and into the future.

Have a great weekend!