Read: Cole Reid: October 2013

The first day of school was back in August. August 26th to be exact. Cole started 2nd grade and Reid started Kinder. They like going to the same school together. I think Reid feels super cool that his big brother (and his buds) know him on campus. We fully expected Reid to have a hard time with the transition. He has always had a hard time with transitions. I expected him to cry and we were prepared for a couple of rough weeks. Instead, we learned that we weren't giving him enough credit. On the first day of school, he kissed us and took off to say hello to his Teacher and meet his friend Merick.

Kinder goes from 7:40am to 2:40pm. First-fifth grades go from 7:50am to 2:50pm. When I went to pick them up that afternoon, I picked Reid up and made my second lap to get Cole. When I pulled up, I noticed Cole looked a little frantic. He opened the back door and yelled "REID!!! Where have you been?! I was looking for you everywhere! I went to your classroom, the cafeteria and looked for you in the halls!" Reid's response: "I'm here".
Of course, I thought this was super sweet. Although, I think that may have been the first and last time that Cole worries about finding his brother. haha!

We have been blown away at how much Reid has learned in the last couple of weeks. More importantly, how much confidence and independence he is exuding.
Lately, he has become way more comfortable talking to people he doesn't know. All of a sudden, he is almost reading (not just site words). To the point, where he brings books home and he looks and sounds like he is reading. He sees words when we are out and about and tells us what they say or at least tries. He is also tying his shoes. That may not be a big accomplishment in most households, but in ours it is!!! Primarily because Cole, at 7 years old **STILL** does not know how to tie his shoes. He refuses to learn. I can't say I blame him. I had no interest in learning either. I remember having my friends tie my shoes until early adulthood. ;-) I don't recall when I finally decided to learn, but I know it was later than most kids.
Cole is doing really well in school as well and he tells us that he never wants to move because he likes his school and his friends. We have been in constant communication with his 3rd grade Math teacher and he has been keeping up. By keeping up, we mean getting 100's on tests... On the way to school the other day, the boys asked me where the gas gage was in the car. Cole asked "how much gas do you have left?" So, I answered with a question. "This car can go about 15 miles per gallon. I have 10 gallons left. How far can we go?" It took him 30-40 seconds and he responded "We can go somewhere that's 150 miles away". Mrs. Sandlin is very impressed with his ability with numbers. Our biggest concern is his ability to keep up socially and emotionally, but he seems to be doing fine in that area as well. Keeping our fingers crossed that he can keep up in those areas because it's his favorite class.
Here are some pictures from the first day of school.
Oh and before I forget, Cole has now lost 4 teeth. He lost his 2 bottom teeth on his own (because they were wiggly). The top two were KNOCKED OUT by his brother. Reid kicked him when Cole was trying to go up to his top bunk. If you ask Reid, he will tell you that "Cole punched my foot with his face". We will have a toothless wonder for a long time because they were not ready to come out.