Nathan at 7

Here are a few things about Nathan at 7. 

He starts 1st grade TOMORROW. It's going to be so strange to have him gone from 8:15 to 3:30 every day. Last year, the half days didn't seem like he was gone for too long. Our neighborhood kids get to ride on the "rainbow" bus this year. He is quite excited about that. Last year, he was on "brown" bus. 

Nathan is getting glasses! At his 7 year checkup, the pediatrician's nurse checked his eyes and said his right eye is 20/20 but his left eye is 20/100. I had him into the eye doctor the next day. Sure enough, his right eye is dominating and not giving his left a chance. The poor little guy! Somehow he's managed to adjust with bad eyesight. We never would have known since his grades have been excellent and he reads just fine! His glasses should arrive this week. 

He's down 3 teeth now. The upper one is a bit wiggly. He'll be needing his 2 front teeth for Christmas! 

He's still an excellent sleeper and usually sleeps from about 9 to 7. This is the perfect time to wake up for school so I don't anticipate any problems at this point getting him off to the bus on time. 

For the first time in 7 years, one of Nathan's food allergies improved! His milk IgE level dropped from a "very high" to a "high." We were quite excited. The number is actually close to "moderate!!" Perhaps someday, he will outgrow the milk allergy!  His egg and peanut levels did not change and remain at "very high." This year, he will be eating lunch at  school so I'm going to be quite nervous the first few days. He'll have an epi-pen in his backpack and another in his lunch box and another in the office. If something happens, we just have to hope someone will recognize the problem and give him the medicine! 

He weighs about 54 pounds and is 4 feet tall. He's perfectly average in both categories. We must be doing something to feed him right even with all his allergies. 

Last year, he just loved kindergarten. He did very well. He says he loves reading and he writes very imaginative stories. I hope he will continue to love school and do well in first grade. They added another 1st grade this year so there will be 5 classes. At this point, there will only be 20-21 kids in a class so that will be wonderful! New houses are being built all the time around us though so I'm sure they'll get a few more kids as the year progresses. 

When he and Elizabeth aren't fighting, they like playing imaginative games together. They like to play My Little Ponies where they pretend they're ponies. They still like to play house too. 

He loves gardening and composting. He's started a compost bin of his own. He says we need better soil in our garden so he'll take care of that. He adds compost every day and mixes it around. There does appear to be some "dirt" in there now! Currently, he says he wants to be a farmer when he grows up. 

Pippa is still an obsession. He still pretends he's Pippa all time time (although not as much as last year).