Atlas is Six!

 

I have a 6 year old boy! Any toddler look in his face that was left over is definitely gone. He has grown a lot in independence in the last year. Atlas is the kid that I have to nudge along to be more independent with everyday tasks. If it was up to him he would let me do everything for him forever. He tells me he's not getting married and he's going to live with me forever. So yeah, he needs a little push with certain things. So we trained to get buckled all on his own in the car and to put his own shoes on and he can do both now! I think that sparked a little something that made him want to do some more for himself because it felt good! So although he'll still ask me to do some things for him, he has started to take pride in doing things for himself. I'm so proud of him for that growth! He's also getting better at making friends and wanting to be social. We are still working on controlling emotional outbursts and learning to adapt to something new or any change in our daily routine, but he's better and better each year and continual improvement is all that matters to me. :)

Atlas continues to excel at video games! He still sticks to Mario based games as his favorite but he has branched out some since we discovered free downloadable demos on the Switch. He LOVES to find new demos to try. There were 500+ free demos and we have gone through the whole list and tried everything that looked interesting and appropriate for his age. We found some gems too. Clone Drone in the Danger Zone is one that comes to mind. Robots fighting each other and witty commentary. It's also how we found out he really enjoyed Pikmin and New Super Lucky's Tale that he got for his birthday. He picks up on games quickly and continues to impress me with what he can accomplish. Still trying to find video game-life balance and put reasonable limits on him without squashing his passion and talent. I feel this is an appropriate place to put his success with school! Because getting to play video games after he finishes school is the BEST motivator. He stays focused and always gets it done quickly with a pretty good attitude! (He still has his days) He's blazing through Kindergarten. He's already moved on to his 1st grade math book and is crushing it. He hasn't had one lesson yet that stumped him at all. Handwriting is the only thing he actively tries to avoid. But even then I see a lot of improvement and it's less of a struggle as it has been with Jane. I feel he is right on track with reading and has his sight words down really well. Still working on phonics and sounding longer words out. I'm proud of his progress and look forward to 1st grade with him next year!

Although Atlas can be a loner sometimes because of his love for video games, he really loves all of his siblings a lot! Jane and Atlas are buds! When something happens and Jane is not around she's the first person he has to tell. If she's not in the room when it's time for bed he can't sleep. They are almost total opposites but love to play together. Even though there are many disagreements on what they should play once they get started they have a lot of fun. Alexandria and Atlas have the most in common! They love bowser and most of the same movies and shows. Xan is showing a great interest in playing video games as well. When playing make believe it's easy to decide what to play but once they get started there can be some disagreements. It's so interesting how they play differently than Jane and Atlas. Flynn and Atlas have a solid brother relationship. Since Flynn is still 2 it's mostly just wrestling and being rough and liking boyish things like trucks and dinosaurs, etc. I know Atlas loves having a brother because when we found out we were having baby #5 he was very excited and definitely wanted it to be a brother. When we found out Piper was a girl he was in denial for a while. He's finally come around but it took him quite a while. ;) I wonder what kind of relationship he'll have with his baby sister. I can't wait to find out! <3

Atlas continues to show many similarities to Sam. I went into what makes them similar in his 5 year post. You can read it here. The only thing I'll add to this year is we found out the way Atlas learns is very much like Sam as well. Once I show him how something works he catches on quickly and it's like he doesn't even have to think about it anymore. Sam said his brain works the same way. Since Sam and Atlas like most of the same things it's pretty perfect that their Birthdays are only 3 days apart because a trip to an Arcade was exactly what both of them would enjoy and they could enjoy it together! Cidercade was perfect!! One entry fee and then free play to anything in the building for the whole day! Amazing. We all loved it and had a great time. We will be back!

Weight

Birth: 8lbs 7oz

1 Year Old: 22 lbs

2 Years Old: 27 lbs

3 Years Old: 32 lbs

4 Years Old: 35 1/2 lbs

5 Years Old: 37 3/4 lbs

6 Years Old: 42 lbs

Atlas is still a lightweight! Probably because he's still a pretty picky eater, also because if I don't remind him to eat he would probably skip meals a lot. He wants to play video games straight through meal times. Sam will do the same thing sometimes! His well check had him in the 24th percentile of weight. So still healthy! I'm just happy he's not quite as picky as he was last year. We're still working on it though.

Height

Birth: 21 1/2"

1 Year Old: 29"

2 Years Old: 33"

3 Years Old: 36"

4 Years Old: 3' 2.5" (38.5")

5 Years Old: 3' 6.25"

6 Years Old: 3' 8.75"

Atlas hasn't hit any super growth spurts yet, but he doesn't seem overly short next to his peers anymore. He's in the 33rd percentile for height, so still on the shorter side but not as much as the last few years. He doesn't seem to notice at all. Boys really grow in the teenage years! So I'll wait to place my bets on whether he'll end up tall or not for a while.

Firsts

It's time for firsts and favorites! I said last year I was pretty sure I would have to supplement his firsts with some notable memories or events but I got very creative with finding firsts and still made it through every month with the unconventional firsts list. I just love to watch him grow through the photos and notice what they experienced or accomplished for the first time! Sometimes I didn't even realize a first until I go back through the year.

Beating Mario Galaxy 2! - March 2021

Swinging himself - March 2021

Cavity - April 2021

Reading - May 2021

Holding a chicken - June 2021

Buckling himself - July 2021

Falling asleep reading - August 2021

Starting Kindergarten - September 2021

Monkey Bars without falling/help! - October 2021

School on the playset - November 2021

Making Fluffy Slime - December 2021

Yearbook picture - January 2022

Finishing Kindergarten Math - February 2022

Arcade visit - February 2022

Favorites

As much as Atlas loves playing video games he will choose to turn it off and go outside to play with his siblings without me making him. Sometimes he needs a little nudge but most of the time he will turn off the game on his own for a good break. The trampoline is Atlas's favorite place to be outside! Since he learned to swing himself this year the swing is a close second now! He likes to play pretend with Jane and Xan as well and chase Flynn around since Flynn is a little young to play pretend still. All water play is still a favorite. So he loves it when I bring out the water balloons or slip and slide.

This is the first year that Atlas helped me with his favorites, so most of these he came up with himself. He is still a really picky eater. But he is getting better about trying things. Unfortunately he still doesn't like much that he tries though. Most of his favorites are still the same from last year. His favorite dinner is still Hamburger Helper! He also enjoys Pigs in a blanket, ketchup hamburgers NO CHEESE! strawberries, watermelon, pancakes, waffles, Donuts, grilled hot dogs, homemade pizza, homemade chicken strips. Cliantros is his favorite sit down restaurant and McDonalds is his favorite fast food place, Whataburger is second. 

Atlas doesn't play with toys unless someone else initiates it, so it's hard to peg down what his favorites are. These are the ones he came up with. It took him a bit of thinking to come up with any actually. ;) Teddy, kinetic sand, Metal Mario, Bowser castle and airship with figures, Goo-jit-zu action figures, Lego Mario sets.

TV and movies are definitely something Atlas enjoys. It isn't usually his first choice since when I allow shows I also am allowing video games in another room while I get my work done. So it doesn't usually end up with him picking the show, someone else does and he ends up watching when he gets bored of the video game he's playing. He told me some of his favorites are Zig and Sharko, Hotel Transylvania 3, Lego Movie 2, Goo jit su, Donald duck shorts, Raving Rabbids, Twirlywoos, Grizzy and the Lemmings, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pacman youtube videos.

On to his favorite of favorites!! Video Games! When I asked for a list of his favorite video games this is what he told me: Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury, Super Smash Bros and New Demos! He loves watching trailers for video games and downloading the demo if it's available and it looks cool to him. We've found some great games that way! Other favorite games/demos I can think of are Clone Drone in the Danger Zone, Pikmin 3, Mario+Rabbids Kingdom, Super Lucky's Tale, Yoshi's Crafted World, Kirby Star Allies, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, really, all Kirby and Mario games. And truly, his favorite game is always the game that is the most new to him. Getting new games is the most exciting thing to him! 

Atlas loves books! But when I asked him what books he liked he said, "Only Mario books." After some nudging I got him to admit he likes sonic comics and the book Oliver's fit as well. He will stick on one book from a stack of library books we've checked out and read that one book every night for a week and then he moves on and almost forgets it exists! He's really enjoyed books by David Wiesner like Tuesday and Flotsam. He loves the silly books that make him laugh and I can do fun voices for.

All of Atlas's favorite activities remain the same! Video games are number 1 for sure but if swimming is an option he will choose to swim over video games. Of course I've helped him see over the last year or so how you can play video games any time you want but other activities are just for a certain time and you don't want to miss out because you chose video games instead. He's seen the light and will usually make the right choices about other activities when presented with the opportunity. Other favorite activities are swinging, jumping on the trampoline, playing monster tag, hide and seek and imagining with his siblings.

THE BEACH is Atlas's favorite place of all for sure! He never wants to leave. He LOVED his first trip to a real arcade, Cidercade, this year as well. Other favorite places are Main Event, the library, Zero Gravity, Marmee and Pappaw's house, friend's houses, the park and the Fair. Last year I said he had kind of regressed from his goer personality and become a homebody again. But this year he has landed squarely in the middle. He likes to stay home and chill and has no complaints when we have a day we don't go somewhere, but he rarely passes up an opportunity to go somewhere when I ask him nowadays.

It's been another year of great growth for Atlas! He's made some real friends, found some independence and had a wonderful start to his school years. I'm proud of all the progress he's made and know he'll continue to make more and more. Like I mentioned before he struggles with some seemingly smaller things that don't bother most people but I've really seen him try his best to get through it this year. Sometimes that means going to his room until the big feelings become smaller, other times it means just sitting to the side on his own to get a breather. But he has found the ways to help himself calm down and find solutions. For example, (I'm time hopping a little here since it was Jane's birthday 3 months later this year) We recently changed seating arrangements at the dining table to make room for Flynn at the big table instead of the high chair and that means Xan is now sitting where Atlas used to sit and Atlas is sitting up at the bar with Jane. But when we do cake for birthdays I have all the kids sit around the table while I stand and Sam will sit in his desk chair. Well Atlas was super upset he couldn't sit in his old chair since Xan was sitting there. When I suggested he sit in my chair at the table he had a meltdown and went to his room on his own to cool off. I followed him after a minute and told him we were going to sing happy birthday and I knew he didn't want to miss it. I also told him we weren't going to wait because we can't make someone else's birthday about us, it's unkind. He took a minute and came to the kitchen with a small kids chair from the playroom and set it next to Jane at the table. He said all he wanted was to be next to Jane. He solved the problem on his own! I was so proud he decided to put what he really wanted for himself aside and chose something that could work for him and everyone! He is such a sweet and goofy kid and we all love him to pieces!

Happy 6th Birthday Atlas! We love you so much!

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

The one about swimming!

We love to swim!! I make learning to swim as soon as possible a big priority not just because we love it but because I know how dangerous water is when you don't know how to swim. My parents have a pool and my kids spend a good amount of at their house so it's very important to me that my kids are comfortable in the water and can swim on their own as young as possible.

Because we prioritize learning to swim young, each of my kids has learned to swim across the entire pool with no help the summer after they turn 3. Flynn is looking like he might learn while he's still 2 because he's an older 2 than my others were in the summer. We don't do formal swim lessons. My mom and I teach them together and through the years we've kind of come up with a method that seems to work pretty well! It's very relaxed, relatively simple and mostly kid led. No drama!

I will preface our method with the warning that it may not work well with older kids. We usually start training them when they’re 6-12 months old. So my tips are baby age related mostly. I’m not sure if I’m very knowledgeable teaching a toddler or older kiddo to swim at all. I've never done it! 

Also the most important disclaimer, I am NOT a licensed or trained swim teacher/coach in any way, shape or form. Any advice you take from this blog post is at your own risk. You are responsible for your child in the water at all times.

With that out of the way I'll get started!

Once they are 6 months or older we start by just dunking them in the water and teaching them to hold their breath so they're not afraid to put their head under. This is the only time of training that the child may not enjoy the process much at first. We do this for just a second or less at a time, really just down and up for the first few, then gradually move up over time by half seconds to maybe 3-5 seconds eventually. (I just count in my head) They are usually closer to a year before we get to 3 seconds I think. Before we dunk them we take a deep breath with them then blow in their face right before they go under. (it's a natural response for them to close their mouth when they feel air blow on their face) When they come out of the water we’re all really excited for them!! Like way more than we should be. ;) Everything super encouraging and positive. We only do 2 dunks each swim session for the first few weeks and move up from there. Eventually they will start asking to go under! As different as all my kids are they have all asked to go under water after they turned 2. For a kid that's a little older and maybe afraid of going under I would try putting goggles on yourself and your kiddo and go under with them. It might be fun to take a toy under the water to look at or try to play with a little to encourage staying under a little longer than a second at first. 

I wouldn't worry too much about them coughing up water from time to time. It happens often when they are learning to hold their breath. If you are doing the gradual method they are only getting a tiny bit of water at a time if they do suck in any on accident. Still be careful! If they keep coughing every time they go under I would stop and try again in a couple weeks. I would say in an hour swim I only really want to hear them cough up water 5 times or less. If it's been about that much we take a break from swim practice and play in the shallow water or use floaties for the remainder of our swim time. (I have nothing to back this up other than a mother's intuition! Please use your own discretion)

Once they are up to 3-5 seconds of holding their breath with almost no coughing, we start passing them from one person to another under the water. (this usually isn't possible until 18 months or more likely 2 years old) We do this so they get the idea that they are supposed to move under the water. It’s not long before they start moving their arms and legs naturally to reach the next person. Of course we remind them to kick and move their arms verbally.

Once they are consistently making swimming like motions we start practicing getting to the stairs and standing up on their own to get out. I give them a launch in the water so they reach the stairs without much movement on their part so all they have to do is put their feet down on the stairs to stand up. I will move their feet downward while they're under the water at first to help them know what it feels like to straighten up in the water to stand up. Each time I give them a little less of a push so they have to move themselves towards the stairs and get out.

After they have mastered getting to the stairs from my arms a few feet on their own. I will let them jump off the stairs/side to see how far they can swim. I start close to them but back up as they swim to see how far they can go, I will pick them out of the water when I can tell their almost out of breath. It's about 5 seconds still when they are still learning to move through the water, it can be more though. I just know by how they move in the water they need a breath soon. (it's hard to explain but their movements will change from smooth to more urgent and they start reaching for you)

Around this time I like to make sure they know how to swim to the side of the pool reach up with their hands and climb out on their own. So no matter where they are in the pool they can get out and they are not relying completely on the stairs to get out. It's the same method as going to the stairs but instead I push up on their feet or their bottom to get them to reach upwards to the side. Each time I try to give them less help upwards until they can do it on their own. 

The last step is getting them to take a breath on their own. (this is the step Flynn is on!) I let them start swimming on their own towards me then instead of picking them up out of the water after 5ish seconds, I push up on their chest just enough to bring their head out of the water to get a breath and then let them drop back in and repeat until the reach the other short side of the pool. We do that over and over and over until they naturally bring their head up on their own and can swim across the pool on their own.

All of this is child led! They want to do it! Other than the initial part of learning to go under water, I've never had to force them or even ask them to try. They ask to learn to swim themselves. And if they are not into it that day, we do it another day.

The last tip I have is for floaties/life jackets. If you really want them to learn quickly don't use floaties at all. (I'm talking about the puddle jumper like floaties, not baby floats when they are infants) Flynn has never worn them and is the fastest at learning to swim so far. All of my other kiddos have used floaties from time to time because I just needed a break or I had two non-swimmers at a time and it was impossible to go swimming without them. I only have one non-swimmer this summer, so I have the luxury of not using them this summer. 

Now, If you do use them, make sure to take them off right before you get out of the water and let them go under the water for a couple of seconds. That way the last memory of the pool is that they cannot swim on their own! We also tell them they cannot swim on their own. They are not allowed in the pool without an adult! We tell them this no matter what their verbal abilities may be. I say this from experience. Little 2 year old Alexandria and I had just gotten out of the pool and I took off her floaties and went to grab in a towel that was 10 feet away. Little did I know she had turned right around and gotten back in the pool down the steps. There was no splash, no noise, nothing to tell me it was happening. One of my other children was stripping his swimsuit off and I stopped to tell him to keep it on until I could get a towel around him and that's when I saw her head bobbing just below the water, struggling to keep her eyes over the water. I get a lump in my throat and feel the tears coming on just writing about it. Immediately I rushed in and got her out. She was white faced from fear, but breathing fine. She is a very verbal child and told me she held her breath. Time did tell that she had. She hadn't swallowed any water! We had been doing our training to hold her breath and it had worked! I called my pediatricians nurse line and made sure we didn't need to get her checked out. The nurse said since she hadn't lost consciousness and was acting normal and didn't cough up water we were fine to just monitor her from home. Thank goodness!! This happened at my parents pool with 3 adults within 15 feet of her. None of us were looking at her for 30 seconds. (we know it was this long because there are cameras) That's all it takes. 30 seconds is so short out of the water but so long in the water. We are all so careful! I had just gone to get a towel and she is my kid that ALWAYS follows right behind me. It only takes one time... It could have been so much worse. She was totally fine. But I am scarred from that experience. We were already very intentional about water safety, but now we are even more so! Still it can happen to anyone. STAY VIGILANT!

The biggest thing about being comfortable in the water is frequency. Get in as much as possible!! In the summer we swim 2-4 times a week. (mostly 2 though)

Hope all of this helps someone!! Happy swimming!