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Thomas is in 5th grade and halfway through his 3rd year in the ALL (accelerated) class.  He has always just learned things with very little effort.  I think maybe it makes him a little impatient because he races through his work and doesn’t want to take the time for neatness, particularly with things like art.

Thomas is enjoying learning about US History this year.  He has been working on the great American 5th grader challenge. He has to memorize the Gettysburg address, all the states and capitals, the preamble to the constitution, all the presidents of the US in order, the pledge of allegiance, and be able to write and spell all the words in the pledge of allegiance.  When his brother moved out, Thomas cleaned off the desk in their room and declared that he felt like he made the Louisiana purchase because he gained more than 50% more desk space.  He also pointed out how Thomas Jefferson made the purchase and he purchased the land from the French likewise Thomas Cochran gained more desk space from his brother who will be speaking French as a missionary.

Thomas has had a special relationship with his big brother, Isaac.  He was particularly sad as the day of Isaac’s leaving approached.  After two weeks of home MTC, Thomas assumed that Isaac would sleep at home during his Provo MTC time and became sad when he discovered that he was actually saying goodbye sooner than expected.  Thomas enjoyed getting a chance to be Isaac’s mission companion during some of Isaac’s home MTC days. Despite the time he expected to have being cut short, Thomas has been enjoying the freedom of having his own room. Thomas and Nicole spent some time together planning out the perfect hangout space to create on the top bunk.  By the time they were done, Nicole had an Amazon cart with $80 of items including neon signs, curtains, and new blankets.

Thomas continues to claim that hotwheels cars appeal to him even though he rarely plays with them.  He does still enjoy Legos.  Mostly he likes to make stop motion videos with the things that he builds. He likes playing chess and playing some card games. He is particularly good at Egyptian Rat Screw which is a card slapping game.

Thomas recently installed DouLingo and started learning Russian. He chose Russian because he wanted to learn something different and he likes that they use a different kind of alphabet with Cyrillic letters.

Thomas anticipates things with excitement, he is almost always anticipating something.  He is often telling me how many days and sometimes how many hours until some exciting event happens..  Lately he has been tracking his birthday, but he also keeps track of when the next family birthday will occur or how many days till an appointment, field trip, or celebration. He eagerly anticipated his first chance to shoot a BB gun and became extra excited when a time was finally set.  

Thomas has started participating in D&D every Thursday with his friends.  I think there are 10 boys in the group. After school they walk over to one of the boy’s houses. Thomas likes to bring a bag of cheddar jalapeno cheetos to share with his friends each week.  It has become a fun social event and a good bonding opportunity for all the boys. 

Thomas enjoys socializing with his friends and siblings. Thomas’s best friends right now are Christian, Matthew, Nate, William, Kaden, Davey and Ian. Thomas is good at finding unique ways to connect with his friends online while he is at home.  They started with having group conversations on Google Docs, but have moved on to zoom calls, google meets, and communicating through steam games.

One of Thomas’s favorite things to do is to run across the street and collect treats from his grandparents.  Sometimes he fills his pockets with otter pops and then puts them in the freezer at home so that he can enjoy his stash for an extended period.  He also likes to bring his friends across the street for treats.  I think he enjoys having this extra special privilege that he can share with all his friends.

Thomas’s favorite foods are mostly sandwiches.  He likes when I make a giant sandwich with a loaf of french bread.  His other favorites include egg and bacon sandwiches and grilled cheese. 

His current favorite computer games are Terraria, Stardew Valley and Slime Rancher. His friends pitched in to get him a game called Stray that he has been enjoying the last few days. 

He still hates to dress up in costumes of any kind. This year for Halloween he dressed as “future Thomas” which meant he wore a hat and glasses that lit up.

Thomas is interested in guns, crossbows, and weapons of all types.  Since his sister received a battle ax for her birthday, Thomas has asked for a variety of different weapons. Unfortunately for him, guns and weapons are a topic that can get him into trouble at school and other places so his parents have avoided supporting these interests to any great measure.

Thomas and Ila are still great friends.  They still enjoy playing together and insist on inviting each other to their birthday parties.  Recently Thomas has started enjoying spending time with Nicole on occasion and has matured enough to be more forgiving of her occasional lapses in social skills.

Thomas loves cats and considers it a personal insult when people say unkind things about them.  He was jealous of his sister’s collection of cat shirts and asked for some of his own.  Now his wardrobe contains enough cat shirts that he can wear one every day. His daily wardrobe includes jeans, a cat shirt, and a hoodie.

Inevitably my early risers always start to want to sleep in just before they are required to start getting up earlier for school and Thomas is no exception.  The boy who was always the first to wake up naturally and put his backpack out at the bus stop 2 hours early, is now barely waking up in time to say goodbye before I leave and sometimes choosing to sleep in as long as he can before school. He still packs his own lunch and makes his own breakfast every day and I appreciate his independence in those tasks.

Thomas is a great son who enjoys being part of our family. He likes to have fun with his siblings and friends. He tries to always be kind and I am glad that I get to be his mom! Here is what I wrote about him last year.