The First One

I've had a few people make comments lately about how I have a favorite child because most of my recent pictures and stories are about Lena. This is so not true! First of all, if you went back to when Dylan was a baby you will find a gazillion pictures and stories about him. I am trying to make sure I document as much of Lena's first year as possible so she doesn't feel like I didn't have time for her. Second, Dylan does not like to have his picture taken lately. Third, Dylan is out of the house a lot more these days because of preschool and playing at friends houses.

That being said, Dylan is such a good kid. People tell me so all the time, so I'm not just bragging because he's mine. He is (most of the time) very polite and friendly and super super smart. I have to register him for Kindergarten this Friday. I cannot believe that he is ready for this step, but I know he will thrive when school starts in August.

He's learning all about the intricacies of friendship these days. He was of the mindset that he could only have one friend in each atmosphere he is exposed to (school, church, swim lessons). I ended up having to have a talk with him about it because one of his friends from preschool had told his Mom that Dylan wasn'this friend anymore because Dylan is now friends with another kid. To Dylan's credit, his 'new' friend Gavin is also in swim lessons with Dylan. I think that extra time together helped them to form a bond. I explained to Dylan that he can be friends with more than one person at preschool and that he needed to make sure that Caiden didn't feel left out. While dropping Dylan off one day last week, I watched him approach Caiden and say "Caiden, I'm sorry for being mean to you yesterday. Do you want to come play with me and Gavin?" Then all three boys ran off to play.

Dylan had no idea that I was watching him. My eyes welled up with tears and I had this overwhelming feeling of pride. It was one of those moments where you know you must be doing something right as a parent. I so often feel very inadequate, but this experience let me know that my kid is learning important values. Mike and I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an awesome son.