Dexter at 14 Years

The stats:

Weight: 135 lbs (around 81st percentile)

Height: 70 in (around 96th percentile)

Dexter made it through his first year of middle school. He is growing faster than we can get clothes for him and is still one of the tallest in his class. He's not great at standing up straight and is sometimes quite clumsy in his growing frame.

He's a busy kid and played tennis and basketball after school and improved greatly in both. He did well in his classes for the most part with a few bumps in the road learning how to deal with a lot more homework and organization. 

He has stayed close to a few of his elementary friends and he's making new friends at Prep. He had a lot of fun having Maya there for his first year and made friends with many of the older kids because of that. 

He's still in sloth zone, loving sleeping, video games, and screens of all varieties. That said, he is well liked by friends and can be a great conversationalist when he's around people. 

He definitely developing an interest in politics and philosophy. He's still playing the piano. He has been watching more and more complex/adult themed movies and would probably say his favorite movie is "The Blues Brothers." He is also watching more baseball with Dad and is becoming a big Cubs fan. 

He's turning into a sophisticated fellow. Happy Birthday Dex!

Dexter at 13 Years

 

The stats:

Weight: 115 lbs (around 75th percentile)

Height: 67 in (around 95th percentile)

This year, Dexter has completed many milestones. He completed 6th grade and was accepted into Santa Fe Prep for middle and high school. He's definitely earned the title of teenager with all the excitement like braces, acne and teenage angst. He's tall for his class so people often think he's older than he is, but he still loves to play like the younger ones. His voice is deeper and he loves walking around the house with headphones on.

This year, Dexter is still playing tennis and is doing a pretty good job of getting outside. He had a great time participating in the musical, Grease, this summer. 

However, he is still very active in his sloth period preferring to play video games, watch TV, and play games whenever possible. He's still taking piano and had fun playing the clarinet during the school year for 6th grade band. 

Dexter has slowed down on reading lately and mostly reads assigned books and some of his old favorites. Hard to get him too excited about reading right now. He is getting more interested in politics and history. He's also interested in ethics and arguing generally which can be interesting and annoying. He's a huge fan of The Good Place particularly because of the all the ethical issues is explores. He's still in love with Brooklyn 99, The Simpsons, and stand up comedy. We continue to movies with some of his recent favorites being Inside Out 2 and Back to the Future. 

Dexter has a close group of friends from his old school and is just starting to get to know the kids at his new school, but he seems like he really enjoys socializing and getting to know people. He still has some anxiety, but he's really developed some good techniques to deal with it. 

It's crazy to see our little guy getting so much bigger and more mature. Welcome to the teenage years!!

Happy Birthday Dexter!

Dexter at 12 Years

 

The stats:

Weight: 98 lbs (around 67th percentile)

Height: 63 in (around 92nd percentile)

Dexter has had a year of major growth, both physically and mentally. He's officially starting the pubescent phase of life complete with rapid growth, acne and deodorant required. He also went through some tough challenges in the winter regarding some severe anxiety. Thanks to his teachers and a good therapist, he was able to gather some great new skills and work through it. In fact, he challenged himself by performing long monologues in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in front of a big audience during that time. We are really proud of him for all the work he did and we are so happy that he's smiling again.

This year, Dexter has been played soccer, played tennis, and signed up for a Shakespeare production. He has a great group of friends and is praised for being a good influence on what can be a very loud group of kids in his class at school. 

Dexter loves playing video games, watching TV, and playing poker or pool in his free time. She's still playing the piano and this year he will have the opportunity to play an instrument in the 6th grade band.

Dexter is still a big reader. He loved the Scythe and Maze Runner series and he has read some other books for school and continues to pick old favorites and read them again and again. In TV, he is love with the show Brooklyn 99 and The Simpsons. He's watching lots of movies adding films like Poltergeist and Forrest Gump to his repertoire. 

Dexter is getting older and sometimes embraces the adolescent sloth behavior, be he continues to show us his witty, comedic self as well. He's a caring and kind person and we love him.

Happy Birthday Dexter!

Dexter at 11 Years

The stats:

Weight: 90 lbs (around 75th percentile)

Height: 59 in (around 80th percentile)

Dexter made it through his first year in Santa Fe. He's had an impressively good time at his new school, Wood Gormley. He liked his teachers for 4th grade and he made some great new friends. He's off to a great start in 5th grade and seems very comfortable with his new teacher too. We hear that he's a good student even though his class is infamous for being LOUD. His teachers always say he brings a nice, fun, yet mellow vibe to the classroom. 

Transition isn't easy, but he's been courageous and willing to try a lot of new things. Everyday isn't all smiles, but most of the time he seems like he's having a pretty good time.

Dexter is still enjoying rec soccer and now he's been taking some tennis lessons too. He is continuing his piano lessons too. His greatest love is still video games (CURSE YOU PANDEMIC!). He likes the creative games like Minecraft, but will happily play just about anything on a device. He also likes board games and poker.

Dexter is reading plenty as usual. He's continues to read all of the Rick Riordan books; he completed the Hunger Games trilogy and recently started the Scythe series. He is obsessed with his Hazardous Tales books which he reads over and over. They are historically based, so he will happily recite facts he's found there. He is also enjoying math and creative writing as much as ever. 

We are really enjoying being able to share so much as a family now. We are watching so many fun movies together (Dexter's been watching some classics like The Great Escape and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly lately). He's a fun companion at restaurants or on outings. It's great to feel like Dexter has arrived in a new place where he's able to make jokes that are really funny, comment about more complicated subjects, and engage with us in more sophisticated ways. It is always a treat to hang out with Dex.

Happy Birthday 11-year-old!

Dexter at 10 Years

The stats:

Weight: 76 lbs (around 60th percentile)

Height: 56 in (around 75th percentile)

Wow! A lot has changed for Dexter over the past year. Most of his 3rd grade year was in-person at Mark Day School. He loved being back at school and bonded with the boys in his cohort. After the school year, we moved and he has now started at a new school for 4th grade. His anxiety was certainly present, but it's decreased steadily and really went down when we got to Santa Fe. We are seeing a new maturity and confidence that seems to be helping him deal with all these new situations. 

Dexter loves comedy! He loves joke books and watching comedy. He tries out his own jokes, but mostly he makes funny comments frequently and really makes us laugh. He is already making friends here and seems to have found a few boys that he really likes. He likes to FaceTime with his buddies from San Rafael. He also started rec soccer here. He complains about going, but usually has a great time once he's there. Overall, in comparison to a year ago, Dexter is so much more relaxed and happy. 

Dexter has turned into a reading maniac this year. We finished the Harry Potter Series with us reading much of it to him and then he found the Percy Jackson series and he began reading ferociously on his own. These days, he can often be found reading a book in corner. We realized the extent of his book collection when we moved. He loves the big bookshelf in his new room and is alway digging out old favorites. He's also loving math and enjoys a good math challenge. He's advancing with his writing and prefers to write funny stories more than anything else. He's recently started a series about cheese that wants to take over the world. He's a curious kid with good imagination. 

Dexter is still playing piano and getting virtual lessons from our teacher in San Rafael. He is progressing and likes to play, but always complains about practicing. Playing on the soccer team is a fun new activity. 

Dexter continues to love video games. He gets very involved and wants books about Minecraft and Zelda Breath of the Wild. He loves all video games and it is his favorite thing to do. Much of this habit was built on the pandemic and we aren't thrilled about it. We try to limit the time, but it does make him happy.

Dexter is beginning to get old enough to participate in more the "mature" TV shows that we like to watch and is not the little guy who feels left out as much. He and Maya continue to get along well. Maya is wanting to be out more on her own with friends, so Dexter is sometimes lonely around here. Dexter's favorite shows are "The Simpsons" and "Tom and Jerry." As a family, we've watched "Modern Family" and "His Dark Materials" along with some other fun programs. 

We are having fun with our double digits kid. It's very fun to get to know the older, wiser, and funnier Dexter.

Dexter at 9 Years

Dexter is 9!

The stats:

Weight: 64 lbs (around 50th percentile)

Height: 54.5 in (around 78th percentile)

It’s been a crazy year. Dexter is a wonderful kid navigating a time that has been really hard on kids. He’s been frustrated and scared by the pandemic, the fires, the political tensions... you name it. He misses seeing his friends, doing his favorite activities, and just being an ordinary kid. Overall, he’s handled everything pretty well. He has great days and then he has days where he stays more sad or angry. 

Dexter treasures his friends and loves to play. He is into creating “clubs” where the mostly boys have some sort of odd common interest. He is enjoying distance learning more than he was in the spring because the teachers are present all day long and there’s less independent work with Mom over his shoulder. He’s been getting more advanced with his reading and writing. His writing has really improved and he’s writing more complete stories with good handwriting. He is still reading easier chapter books (Roald Dahl, etc) and never loses his love for graphic novels including: “Dogman,” “Plant’s Versus Zombies,” “Big Nate,” and “Garfield.” We are still working our way through Harry Potter. Dexter still prefers for us to read those.

He loves art and creates very detailed drawings. He recently completed a series of drawings about platypuses doing different activities. He also is really starting to blossom with his piano playing. He sometimes tries to learn new songs that he likes by playing them by ear. He sometimes succeeds. We had hoped he’d be able to play baseball again this year, but that obviously didn’t work out because of the pandemic. We tried for soccer in the fall and that didn’t work either for the same reason. He did get a little soccer coaching from Malcolm Zalayet and he really enjoyed that.

Dexter’s biggest complaint since pandemic is that he’s the youngest and he gets frustrated that in our family he has that disadvantage. We try to remind him that he gets to watch a lot of TV shows and movies sooner. He’s also been able to play video games sooner. Much of this is a function of parental laziness and the extraordinary times. It is fun that we can now play a lot of games together now and have some fun although Dexter still gets pretty upset when he loses.

Speaking of video games, Dexter’s love in life has been revealed (hint: it’s the same love as every other boy in his class). Dexter started playing Minecraft last year. He and Maya had a lot of fun mostly playing in creative mode making elaborate homes. At Christmas, life got even more exciting when we got the Nintendo Switch. This meant that Maya and Dexter could play Mario Kart and Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This became another new obsession. He loves it, but we aren’t sure we love how it impacts him. We are hoping that we can find a middle path with the games. 

Overall, Dexter has been a trooper over the last half-year of isolation and difficulty. It’s created more anxiety and anger for him, but he’s still a very intuitive, sweet, funny, creative spirit. We are hoping that he gets back to school soon so he can get more social time outside the family and raise his spirits. COVID stinks. We love Dexter so much! Happy Birthday!

Covid School

Well, it's time to go "back to school." This year the kids didn't go very far. 

The kids got dragged out onto the stairs for their usual first day of school photo. This year no shoes required because they weren't going anywhere.

Time for "screen school" as Dexter calls it.

Maya's classroom.

Dexter's classroom. Here we go...

Dexter at 8 Years

Dexter is now 8.

The stats:
Weight: 65.6 lbs (around 80th percentile)
Height: 52.5 in (around 85th percentile)

Dexter is getting more “mature” these days. He’s getting longer and narrower as he keeps sprouting up. He definitely has an opinion these days and feels a little like he’s turned into a little teenager. He’s got lots of his own ideas and he goes from happy and having fun to having the “worst day ever” in a matter of a few moments. He’s also the fan of “one more minute” and “I’m almost done,” whenever we ask him to do anything. He rolls his eyes and makes plenty of annoyed faces.

On the other hand, he can be absolutely delightful and fun. He’s very caring and kind. He loves to make jokes and is a loyal friend. We have so much fun together.

He’s still rather risk averse and generally won’t jump in to new activities very easily, but once he does, he is generally thrilled about the activity and that he did it. Recently we were at a pool that had a small waterslide. Dexter was holding on to the railings to avoid going down. Once he did, he proceeded to go on that same waterslide about a million times.

Dexter has started 2nd grade and is enjoying it so far. He is a hard core reader now. He can read chapter books, but still enjoys reading graphic novels the most. We’ve begun the Harry Potter series and he is a huge fan. He can read them, but he prefers to have us read instead. He also likes science themed books and loves learning facts about the body.

He’s is still drawing and creating like crazy. He loves making things out of cardboard and tape. We have a whole box full of paper towel rolls and other items that he likes to use for his creations. He had a great year playing baseball and he’s excited to continue. We’d hoped to get him on a soccer team this year, but the scheduling didn’t work out. He’s learning how to play tennis and has gotten better at skiing this year too. His swimming is okay. He’s mostly pool safe, but not an elegant swimmer.

He’s been enjoying his status as a young brother in that he gets to watch movies earlier than Maya did because his parents are just not creative enough to figure out how to deal with the variety of viewing ages in the house. He’s been watching more Marvel movies along with “The Office” and “The Good Place.” He actually follows the more “mature” shows pretty well and seems to be entertained. He LOVES video games which he only really gets to play on his “phone” when we go on trips. For his birthday, we are letting him start to play Minecraft which will likely be a game changer.

Dexter is really wanting to take control and feel empowered. He’s getting witty and quite funny. He really wants to be right and isn’t great at saying sorry, but there are so many moments when he is so kind and thoughtful. This definitely feels like a testing phase as he’s moving to another stage of life. We love seeing his evolution. Happy Birthday Dex!

Back To School

It's that time of year again...

Unfortunately, this isn't staged.

Hello 2nd grade and 7th grade.

Dexter at his desk.

Maya gets her first locker.

Dexter at 7 Years

Yep…he’s seven.

Here are some approximate stats:
Weight: 57.8 lbs (around 78th percentile)
Height: 49.5 inches (around 75th percentile)

He’s growing up! He’s definitely more engaged with everything that’s going on around him and remembers unexpected details. Dexter loves telling people jokes. He’s come up with a few funny jokes and makes funny deadpan comments when we least expect it.

Dexter has become better at recognizing stress and understanding how it impacts his body. He’s much more willing to try new things without a lot of anxiety. He loves talking to everyone. This year he went to Australia and New Zealand, tried out some new summer camps and completed his first year at his new school and he managed it all really well. In the first part of the year, he would still have some anxious moments, but now they rarely seem to happen.

Dexter is loving school. He’s enjoying the various subjects, but he would say his favorite classes are recess, PE, art, and music. He loves playing games, running around, and just being a kid. He spends lots of time writing and drawing. He’ll draw very detailed machines and mazes. He is completely in love with platypuses and will draw them whenever he can. He loves most sports, but seems to like soccer and baseball most of all. We still don’t have him in any official teams yet, but he does seem to enjoy team sports. He also just started piano and he seems to think it’s pretty cool.

His reading has improved dramatically. He can now read easy chapter books like “Nate the Great” and read almost all his picture books. He absolutely loves reading his “Plants vs Zombies” graphic novels along with the “Dog Man” series. He wants to read on his own most nights after we read together and keep going until we make him turn off the light. It’s wonderful to have two great readers in the house. He’s definitely right-handed and is doing a lot of writing in school and at home.

Dexter loves TV for better or for worse. His favorite show these days is “Mythbusters” and we made the mistake of showing him an episode of “The Simpsons” and now he wants to watch it all the time. Other shows of interest are “Octonauts,” “Wild Kratts,” “The Who Was Show” and “The Three Stooges.” He’s been able to cheat and see some stuff that we probably would have saved for later if not for his older sister like “Spiderman: Homecoming,” “Jumanji,” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” He’s a huge fan of all three, but loves the bloopers reel on “Spiderman” most of all. He still loves “Lego Batman” and “The Lego Movie.” If he could play video games all-day everyday he would. Sadly for him, he doesn’t get to play them very much. He love playing games on the phone like “Plants vs Zombies,” “Talking Tom Gold Run,” “Color Switch,” and “Dancing Lines.”

Dexter is losing his babyface and turning into a kid. While it’s sad to see the baby fade away, we are truly enjoying watching the facets of his personality bloom.

Back To School Again

These guys are ready for another year. Maya is starting 6th grade and Dexter is starting 1st.

 The obligatory photo series.

Shaking hands with Mr. Harvey, the Head of School.

Dexter looking very cute in his new classroom.

One Less Tooth

Dexter loses a tooth and stuff...

 Dexter lost his first tooth. Unfortunately, he didn't actually know when he lost it and we didn't actually find the tooth. But it's gone. Good news is that the tooth fairy still came.

Making faces.

More faces.

Hilarious.

Packing for a special adventure with Mommy.

Dexter at 6 Years

Wow!  Dexter is six!

Here are some approximate stats:

Weight: 52.4 lbs (around 82nd percentile)

Height: 47.5 inches (around 85th percentile)

It’s been another big year! Dexter is truly in a new stage of childhood. He’s much more independent and secure when away from his family. He’s thinking more about the world and wants to know how things work. He is happy socializing, but it’s also fun to see him getting completely engaged in solo activities like drawing or building. He likes to be silly and has been getting very interested in how to make jokes. Let’s just say his comedy routine needs a little work, but he’s making progress. While he stays happy most of the time, he has a sensitive and sometimes anxious side that he shifts into quite suddenly and then shifts out of just as quickly. He’s learned lots of tools to manage his emotions and it’s nice to see him stop and take a few deep breaths or say, “Let’s find a little peace.” He loves hugs and writing notes to people he cares about.

Dexter enjoyed a year of Montessori kindergarten and has now started kindergarten at Mark Day School. His Montessori experience was very loving and self directed.  He has learned some very basic reading and math skills and is very prepared for “real” kindergarten. He loved his old school and spent most of the year as the big guy on campus in a school of 3-6 year-olds. In September he started at the same school as Maya and loves that she is there. He’s adjusted well to the new school and is loving being back with his friend Owen (who he’s known since birth) and making new friends. He gravitates primarily to boys and plays a lot of chasing and climbing games. He also continues to love building things with blocks, legos, whatever.  

He can read basic Dr. Seuss books slowly and many simple one syllable words. He understands addition and subtraction and even a bit of multiplication.  He is an avid drawer and writer. We thought that he was left-handed and now it seems he is probably right-handed. He still trades hands, but he is definitely favoring the right. He’s hitting his milestones and seems to be appropriately challenged at school. He loves books. We are starting to introduce more complicated stories and he is enjoying listening to them.

He has a weakness for TV shows and video games.  We let him watch “Tom and Jerry,” “Phineas and Ferb,” and “The Three Stooges.” Those are his comfort shows that he likes to watch for a little while after school. We’ve begun watching “Star Trek: The Next Generation” as a family and Dexter is famous for the dance he does over the opening credits. He loves "Lego Batman." The only time he’s allowed to play games on a phone is when we travel on planes or on road trips, and he gets way too excited about it. He loves any game, but has a particular love for “Plants Vs. Zombies.” His favorite animal right now is a platypus and and his favorite color is orange.

He still loves us more than anything.  While Maya runs off to class and doesn’t want us to hug her at school, Dexter always loves a good cuddle. We love our birthday boy!

Two Kids, Same School

This has never happened.  Today Maya and Dexter went to school at the same spot.  Dexter is starting Kindergarten (for real) and Maya is starting 5th grade.

Obligatory shots in front of the house.

These two.

Dexter gets to shake Mr. Harvey's hand as a student.  He made sure to look him in the eye.

You can see the excitement.

 Proud Kindergartener.

Dexter is in class with his friend since birth, Owen.

After his first day.  (You may be wondering why there aren't more pictures of Maya.  Being her older 5th grade self, she didn't want photos.)

Dexter says hi to his 8th grade buddy, Matthew.

Dexter Graduates

Dexter officially finished his full three years at San Anselmo Montessori School.  This year was his kindergarten year and he got to partake in the special kindergarten curriculum with 9 other children every afternoon.  Today marked the moving on ceremony for all the kids, but was extra-special for the 10 kindergarteners.  They each received a certificate and got to carry a lit candle around the room.  

 The ten kindergarteners seated for the ceremony.

Hugs for Dad.

Hugs for Mom.

 Dexter with his certificate.

Dexter with his wonderful kindergarten teacher, Denise.

Dexter at 5 Years

Dexter is 5…

Here are some approximate stats:
Weight: 46 lbs (around 75th percentile)
Height: 45 inches (around 90th percentile)

It feels like the last year has been huge in terms of development and Dexter is really embracing independence and finding his confidence.  Dexter has always been a real fan of routine and it's always taken a bit of convincing to get him to feel okay with going to a new place or being left alone in any new situation.  We beginning to see that tentativeness fall away and he is really becoming very excited about the big world.

Dexter has a great sense of humor and is a sponge in terms of picking up funny sayings or actions.  We never know what funny statement will come out of his mouth.  One day he said, "I'm out. Peace!" as he walked away defiantly.  He also thinks "Phineas and Ferb" TV show is the best thing that ever happened and steals phrases like "the tri-state area" and "for crying out loud!" from that show.  He is now at the stage where he will tell us more about his days and give us little stories from his adventures at school.

Speaking of school, Dexter has started his first year of kindergarten.  We say that because he is doing the Montessori kindergarten this year and will do the more standard version next year as technically he's too young for kinder this year.  It's crazy seeing him as one of the big kids who helps out the smaller ones and is working on the more complicated works (projects) like drawing maps of the world.  He loves school even with the much longer schedule at five days a week until 2:30.  He spends the morning with all the preschool kids and the afternoon with his kindergarten class which has nine other kids.

They are beginning the foundation for reading and Dexter is absolutely fascinated with writing and letters.  We are 95% sure he is left handed even if he does write with his other hand every once in a while.  He still loves books, especially silly ones.  He is starting to ask all kinds of questions about why things are the way they are and he likes to tell us little bits of knowledge he learned at school.

Dexter loves riding bikes and scooters, playing soccer, and just playing.  He's really into puzzles, Lego, trains, cars, and imaginary games.  He loves drawing, writing, cutting, stapling, taping, etc.

He's a happy guy.  His enthusiasm is contagious and his willingness to give compliments is very disarming.  "Mommy, you are beautiful."  "Maya, that's a great looking picture."  "Daddy is the best." "That's awesome!"

Dexter know that flattery will get you everywhere.  Happy Birthday to our little guy!

Dexter starts "Kindergarten"

Dexter started his last year at his Montessori school.  He is in their kindergarten program, but because of his birthday being just after the cut-off, he will go to kindergarten again next year.  So, don't be surprised when you see his first day of kindergarten again next year.

 Ready for school!

Silly!

Now with this sis!

This year Dex gets to spend lots of time with Teacher Denise who is in charge of the kindergarten program.

Dex with one of his favorite buddies, Logan, after a successful first day.

"Dexter's Riding a Bike" video

And just like that...it happened...

Dexter at 4 Years

Dexter is 4…

Here are some approximate stats:
Weight: 42 lbs (around 88th percentile)
Height: 42.25 inches (around 87th percentile)

Dexter is really coming into his own.  It is obvious that he is keenly aware of everything that his happening around him.  He will notice if we drive on a different road on the way to school or he’ll pick up on subtle cues about what’s going to happen that day.

His communication is advancing at light-speed.  He speaking his mind much more clearly and is able to really express his emotions and his ideas more effectively.  There’s a lot more of “That makes me sad.” and “I’m really mad at you!”  He also understands the power of saying that he likes or doesn’t like someone.  Again, he will try use the power of his words with, “You’re my friend,” or “Daddy is not my friend,” or “I don’t like you, Mommy.”  Things are very absolute for a few minutes at a time.  Of course, with some of the negativity comes some very kind words for everyone in the family too.  One interesting new word that Dexter uses is “challop.” We don’t really know what that word means, but he uses it to describe things sometimes.  I wish we truly understood its meaning.  Sometimes its a compliment and sometimes and insult.  It’s so challop!  Dex knows what he wants to say these days and he’s not afraid to make up words to do it.

He tells us more about what is happening at school and has his first real school friend named Oliver.  They like to play tag and eat lunch together.  Welcome to Dexter’s complex social world.  At school, he is continuing to do fun projects, learn his letters and colors and continue to confuse us at whether he is left- or right-handed.

Dexter loves going to the park, swimming, playing outside, riding his balance bike and scooter.  His ability to fall or run into things and not get upset is amazing and a little unnerving.  When he cries, we always know something REALLY hurt.  Dexter is still into his TV shows and listening to any kind of music.  Stories are a great love.  He brings books with him to the bus stop with Maya and will try to get anyone there to read them with him.  He is just beginning to really enjoy more involved stories and longer picture books.  It’s fun to introduce him to the next level storybooks.

Maya and Dexter continue to bond at home.  It really is fun to see them making up pretend games together, playing legos, and generally making loud noises on their own.

Dex has been fully potty-trained for many months now and it’s so relaxing to have left the world of diapers behind.  He is now in a big boy bed and has mastered all of the basic human skills except for being good at wiping his own butt.  Hopefully, by the next update that last bit of self-care will be mastered.  Weird to have two kids in the house.  They are growing fast!!