Eight

This December,my little boy turned eight.  EIGHT!  Holy cow!  It's so funny to look back over this blog and see how he is totally exactly the same spirited, goofy, sweet boy he was when he was three.  John and I sometimes joke about how we watch old videos of him when he was little and he really hasn't changed all that much.  And yet, in other ways, he has changed a ton.  He is respectful, obedient, hard working, and oh so intelligent.  

This year I wanted to kick the system a little bit and I'm so glad I did.  I'm so tired of every time there is a birthday in Tyler's class, the parents bring in cupcakes with an inch and a half of frosting and a juice box.  Seriously, people???  I'm sure they then go home and celebrate with pizza, soda,  more cake and ice cream.  I don't consider myself a health nut, but I'm a little tired of how blind our society is to the crap we're feeding our kids.  ANYWAY, I didn't want to ruin my kid's birthday over some platform that I want take up, but when I talked to Tyler he was totally on board.  I emailed Tyler's teacher and asked her if I could come in and use the 15 minute allotted birthday treat time at the end of the day to play a game with the class instead.  She was happy with the idea and so was Tyler.  He realized that his birthday would be special and different because we were going to DO something fun instead of EAT something fun, and because it was so different from the norm, it might be more memorable and cool.  So the day before his birthday, we went to the bookstore and bought three books to donate to the class library and then I printed off stickers that said, "this book donated to Mrs. House's class in honor of Tyler Carson's birthday" and stuck them in the front covers.The next day, on his birthday, I brought in a few balloons and the family birthday hat for Tyler and we played four corners for 15 minutes (and of course, the birthday boy got to be "it").  Success!  Tyler felt totally special and the kids had a fantastic time.  And I absolutely love Tyler's book choices: a book about reptiles, a Lego book, and a Magic Tree House series book.  These three books are sooooo representative of Tyler (and I got them for cheap at Half Price Books, none the less).   

After school, we headed to the trampoline place with Tyler's best bud from school.

Tyler and his friend thought they were so cool because they thought of this game all on their own, where they jump across and slap hands every time.  They did this for honestly about 10 minutes straight.  It just made me laugh.

And then it was back home for cake and ice cream and presents.

 

I'm so grateful for this great kiddo in my life.  I still smile when I see him tucked in his bed at night, fast asleep and I still plant a kiss and nuzzle my nose in his soft cheek.  He will always be my little boy. I'm also grateful that he still gives me hugs every day when I pick him up from school and he knows that sometimes I like to hold his hand.  It's hard to watch your babies grow up, but there is also something so rewarding about seeing who they become.  And I am quite proud of who this boy is becoming.