Alley Oops: Miles is Five!

It's been a little less than two months since this big guy turned five. He's weighing in at around 43 lbs and is around 3' 8" tall. He's just finishing his last year of fours preschool, as well as our school district's phonology (speech) program.

Somewhere around 4 1/2, he became fairly obsessed with sports. He'd prefer to watch Sportscenter with Matt than a cartoon and will watch any sporting event live or on tv, even if he doesn't understand the game. He seems to just enjoy the competition.

He's played soccer thie past 3 quarters - outdoor in fall and spring and indoor in winter. He's also taken swim lessons and has gotten much more confident in the water. He loves shooting hoops and will stay outside alone for 30 minutes with a basketball. When we ask, he still says that the sport he most wants to play is football, though.

He is a pretty amazing brother, always looking out for all of his siblings and generally giving them their way, even if it means giving up one of his toys. I joke that he's being trained well for being a husband by having very strong-willed sisters before and after him.

He's come a long way in both his speech and academics. He's awesome with numbers. Aunt Jamie and Uncle Will gave him a watch for his birthday that he loves and it's pretty impressive to watch him do the math to determine the time before something happens ("School starts at 12? So if it's 11:52, I have 8 minutes."). He's also gained an interest in reading since doing the phonics unit at school.

He's very sensitive and empathetic. He hates to hear about people or even animals suffering or getting hurt and always wants to know what we can do to help.