Rog and Chief Phillips: 9 Years

Like Peyton, I don't know Corbyn's 9 year stats because there is no 9 year well child visit with Kaiser. He's tall and skinny. Funny how my biggest, chunkiest baby has turned out to be the skinniest of my kids.

Corbyn at 9 years:

*Is such a calm, mellow kid. He's the perfect oldest kid because he's so patient with his younger siblings.

*Is always obedient. He's the best example for his brother (soon to be brothers) and sister.

*Is a rule follower. If he ever breaks a rule on accident, he'll guiltily tell me about it later and I have to reassure him that it's ok.

*Loves to play his video games. During the school year he hurries to get ready in the morning, so he can squeeze in a few minutes before school. That being said, he's also very good about only playing when he's supposed to and dutifully keeps track of his screen time to make sure he doesn't play more than he should.

*Has become quite a good reader this past year and often reads later in the day after he's already done his 20 minutes of reading for the day. His Lexile reading level greatly improved this school year and the day after school got out his teacher called me to tell me he scored the highest in our school on the 3rd grade state test in reading. He didn't start out a great reader (possibly because he's young in his grade), but he has definitely become one. I'm guessing this is because we spend so much time reading at our house. I am always reading a book with him and Peyton, he's always reading one with Rog, and we're always listening to a book in the car.

*Is also very good at math. He scored 5th highest in our school on the 3rd grade state test in math. He's not a fast worker, but given the time to figure things out, he can do it.

*Has a few sounds he says incorrectly (like s, c, sh, ch, and z). Our untrained ears can't tell and it's nothing compared to Logan's speech troubles, but the speech therapist at his school has identified that these sounds are a problem for him and he should be able to say these sounds correctly by now, so she started working with him near the end of the school year and will continue next year until he gets them worked out.

*Doesn't often raise his hand in class at school (and his teacher attributes it to him needing some speech help), but I'm pretty sure it's because he's shy like me. I always hated participating in class discussion in school and had to force myself to do it when it was included in my grade in high school and college.

*Does participate in his primary class though. I don't know if it's because I'm his teacher, but he always raises his hand and answers questions for me.

Some of my favorite pictures of Corbyn from this last year.

He was so proud of himself the first time he ran a 5K.

With his buddy Chayse at his baptism.

He's such a great sleeper and I rarely find him in interesting sleep positions anymore, so I had to take a picture when I found him sleeping at the bottom of his bed.

Kind of a goofy smile for his school picture, but it could be worse.

He worked hard and improved so much over the cross country season. His final race of the season he placed 3rd in his age group! He's not a sprinter, so the longer distances in cross country are his jam.