The apple doesn't fall far...

We had two parent-teacher conferences today. There, we learned these things about one, or both, boys:

1. Kid, overall, is doing very well - he's more than ready for his next steps. 
2. Kid loves his friends.
3. Kid loves learning new things. He's interested and independent.
4. Kid has hanger-management issues; (in one conference, a 10:30 snack is highly encouraged).
5. Kid is a convincing negotiator—except when he gets really pissed and forgets his words.
6. That said, he's incredibly expressive. "He shares just how he's feeling." 
7. And... kid needs to practice an indoor voice. 

"Regarding the indoor voice," I ask. "How do you handle that at school? We're trying to work on that, too." We, being his two boisterous parents with personal volume-control issues. 

"Well," says the teacher, "we ask him to look around ... is everyone else talking loudly?"

Well if he's at home, or possibly out with, uh, us, the answer is probably yes, I think. 

She continues: "Sometimes we play games where we pretend to be animals that are being really really LOUD and then we become animals that are really quiet."  

So this weekend, we at the Micco-Olin household will be aiming to emulate a bunch of whispering hippos. Wish us luck. (No joke: It's a serious effort. It's happening.)