Weight: 43.5 pounds (75th percentile)
Matthew seems to be growing so much lately. He is really turning into a little boy. He loves to talk and be the center of attention at all times. He demands that I put him down every night and I love that. We read one book in the rocking chair and one book laying in bed. And then depending in the time I read a story from the "Jesus Storybook Bible." He is not taking a nap regularly anymore so he usually falls right asleep at 7:30 pm. I get to lay next to him as he talks himself to sleep. I really love it. Some days he happens to fall asleep in the car and if you let him sleep too long he won't go to sleep at night. But he simply asks me to "get out of my room, Mommy" and that's a cue that he wants to turn on the light and play in his room until he is tired enough to put himself in bed. He never comes out of his room which is so amazing to me. And since waking him from a nap is TERRIBLE I usually let him take a long nap if he ever falls asleep during the day.
I think of all of our kids he is the one that reminds me of Matt the most. Something about him. He tends to observe all sports activities. He still has no interest in riding a bike. The last time he rode his glide bike 6 months ago he slipped on some gravel and skinned his knee and that was it. I am hoping we can get him interested again this summer. But you definitely cannot force it on him. He has to be ready. He is taking swim lessons at Nitro once a week and cries and cries when I make him go, but when he returns he always says "he loves it." I think the anticipation of it all is really stressful. I have contemplated not making him take lessons but we are around water so much that I really want him to be safe even without a life vest this summer. It is time! I'll be interested to see if he will make swim team this year.
He took the Kindergarten Readiness Test about a month ago and did not score well. I am wondering if he has dyslexia or is simply not ready. I am leaning toward the latter. I am having Shonna (our Language Therapist that worked with Alivia and is now working with John) work with Matthew two days a week this summer. I will be interested to see what she says. I know that handwriting will probably be a struggle. And his gross motor skills were also low which is not surprising. I wish I had more time to just run with him, throw a ball to him and help him with handwriting, but there just are not enough hours in the day. It is God's gift to me to allow him to spend Pre-K at ACS because it will allow John to become more independent and start the first year of his Take Flight Program which will be FOUR days a week (Monday - Thursday from 4:15 - 5:15.) YIKES!
At the end of the day, Matthew is such a sweet 4th child. He is fun to have around and is really funny. He loves to be the center of everyone's attention and will do just about anything to get it. When the other kids tell me how they did on various tests at the end of a school day, Matthew will yell out "I made a 10 on my Math Test!" I love his personality so much. I can't wait to see where God takes him!
