Isaac: 9 Years Old

Dear Isaac,

Isaac is 9! He is such a fun guy. He loves to laugh and loves making his family laugh too. He and Moses have been playing a game called "Mad Cat" for months now where they're both cats (Mad Cat and Mad Cat 2.0). I don't completely understand it but they think it is hilarious and the best game they've ever played. They roll around on the floor wrestling and hysterically laughing. It's adorable! They love it so much that For Isaac's birthday, I even made them Mad Cat t-shirts with a drawing Isaac did of Mad Cat. The boys loved them but no joke, they ruined the shirts with the juice from cherries within one hour. I have scrubbed and scrubbed but the stains won't come out. Typical, right?! 

We found out a few months ago that Isaac is allergic to basically everything. We took him in for some testing because he was getting itchy, unexplained rashes daily. He reacted to all but three of the allergens on the skin prick test and the blood test came back showing that he's also allergic to gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, and soy. I was horrified! But after lots of trial and error and consulting with his doctor, we learned that we can keep it all under control if he takes an allergy pill every day. If I forget to give it to him though, he's miserable. 

Isaac has lots of friends and gets invited to hang out with them a lot, but the problem is that he's kind of a homebody. He frequently just wants to stay home and do his own thing. It's not that he doesn't like his friends or want to see them, but he definitely doesn't want to hang out too often or for too long. He's sweet though and never wants to hurt people's feelings, so he's always asking me to come up with excuses for him about why he can't play. 🤣

He's used to hanging out with lots of girls because there are no other boys his age in our neighborhood. He's very particular about his routine and the way things are done. He's not happy if we deviate at all. He's really into holiday traditions and always makes sure we check all of them off the list. 

Isaac does this schtick where he pretends to not know what we're talking about. For example, if we make a comment about something that's right in front of us, he'll be like, "Where is it? I don't see it!" It drives us all crazy! His favorite foods are microwave popcorn, nachos, scrambled eggs on wheat toast, and plain pasta with half & half, butter, salt, and parmesan cheese. For the past year, he's refused to wear anything but athletic shorts and graphic tees. The boy looks sloppy all the time but it's not a battle I want to fight. I let him wear what he wants! 

He's a good little artist and loves to paint and draw. I'm trying to encourage this quality by buying him lots of art supplies and putting him in a painting class. He's been working on learning how to do a backflip on the trampoline and has spent lots of time perfecting it the last few weeks. I can't believe he's going into 4th grade in just a few short weeks. My time with him is going by way too fast!! He loves to snuggle and is a major mama's boy. I spend lots of time tickling his back every night and chatting with him before he falls asleep. It's my favorite part of the day. If you know Isaac, you know what I mean when I say that he's the best!!!

Love always,

Mom

9 Year Stats

Weight: 75 lbs (80th percentile)

Height: 54 in (75th percentile)

Eli: 13 Years Old

Dear Eli,

 

You are 13 years old! I seriously can't believe I have a teenager!!! I'm not old enough for that, right?! (please say no 😉) You are such a great kid. You're responsible, confident, punctual, tidy, loyal, a great student, and chill (except for when we're trying to get out the door and we're running late- then you're not chill at all 🤣). 

One of my very favorite things about you is that you never talk bad about people. Dad and I were talking last night and neither one of us could think of a single time when he's said an unkind thing about anyone. It's such a great quality to have and you're such a wonderful example to me. Even though you won't sing a single note, you're very musical. You really enjoyed playing the trombone in band last school year and are going to continue next year. You also takes piano lessons and constantly blow me away with what you're able to learn. You'll print sheet music to songs you like, sit down at the piano, and have the whole thing learned in just a day or two. It's amazing! 

You love to ski and improved a lot this past season. I honestly couldn't keep up with you on the slopes! Your voice is getting lower and you're only 2 1/2 inches shorter than me. I'm sure you're going to pass me in the next few months. 

You have a good group of friends and love to get together with them to play video games and the oculus, ride bikes, go on adventures, and eat lots of junk food. You're the deacon's quorum president in our ward and love serving in that capacity. You never complains about all of the meetings you have to go to. You always come out of your room dressed in your white shirt and tie without me having to say one word, ready to go 5 minutes early. 

You love to stay up late, laugh with your friends, play board games as a family, and watch movies with dad. You're one of those people who is good to your bones and always want to do the right thing. You're the kind of first child that every parent dreams of having and are a great example to your younger brothers. I'm really proud of who you're becoming. You're a light in my life and I love being your mom! 

Lots of love,

Mom

13 Year Old Stats

Height: 64.6 inches (80th percentile)

Weight: 107 lbs (60th percentile)

Moses: 6 Years Old

 

Dear Moses, 

You are 6 years old today! You are the most adorable little guy and such a light in my life. The school year wraps up this week and I'm really sad thinking about the fact that our one-on-one time together is ending since your brothers will be home 24/7 this summer and then you start full-time school in the fall. I've loved having you by my side the past 6 years while I've done all the day-to-day things like grocery shopping, cleaning the house, making food, and getting ready for the day. You talk my ear off and ask lots of questions as you follow me around the house. A few days ago, I went to Costco by myself while you were at school and I started crying in the middle of the aisle. I felt so lonely as I pushed the shopping cart around. It was so quiet. You weren't there to make me laugh or beg for things. I hated it so much. I think not having you around all the time is going to be a big adjustment for me and I'm not looking forward to it!

You live like a king in this house. You lounge around in your bathrobe, demand snack plates while you watch TV in my bed, and pretty much get whatever you want. It's true what they say about the youngest being the most spoiled. You can get away with almost anything! I can't get you to clean anything for the life of me. Even teeny tiny little tasks that I ask you to do, like picking up your wrapper off the floor or putting your dirty plate in the sink, seem impossible for you. You always say, "I can't. I'm so tired!" It's funny how you're never tired until it's time to do something to help!

Your favorite food these days is popcorn. You drag a stool across the kitchen to the microwave and pop yourself a bag of popcorn whenever the craving strikes, which is sometimes even twice a day. You absolutely love watermelon and have been begging me to buy them for you all winter. I keep telling you that they're not good until summer, which luckily for you is coming up soon! You're my best at eating fruits and veggies. A few weeks ago, you came home from the Schultzs chomping on a big head of raw broccoli, which I had no idea you like. You're fairly willing to try new foods and eat what everyone else it eating.

You are totally and completely obsessed with screens. I've never had a kid beg for screens more than you do. You're probably most into the switch, followed by YouTube, followed by TV shows. I always feel so guilty about the fact that you are watching and playing way more than your older brothers did at your age but it's so hard to keep you away when you have 3 older brothers who are interested in all of that. I try my hardest to not allow any screens on school days and keep it to a maximum of 2 hours a day on the weekends, but occasionally you get more. I hope I'm not ruining you for life!

You love taking baths and still sometimes take them with Isaac. Are you too old for that? I don't know, but it's totally innocent and you love playing together. You make up all kinds of games, sometimes even involving goggles, and you splash water all over my bathroom, but it's worth it for the giggles. You and Isaac play so well together. He's nice and always lets you join in when he has a friend over.

You beg your dad to tickle you constantly. As soon as he walks in the door you yell, "Tickle me!" You roll around on the floor in hysterics. It's the cutest thing ever. You frequently ask me how many hours till dad comes home because you want him to tickle you. Isaac likes to be tickled too so you make a great team.

You and Isaac have made up a game called "Mad Cat" which you play together every single day. I don't fully understand it, but one of you is a grumpy cat and the other is its owner. Sometimes you're Mad Cat, sometimes Isaac is, and sometimes you also include characters called "Mat Cat 2.0" and "Bad Robot" in your game. It's so funny. I love your imaginations and watching you play!

You love to play with friends and run around outside. I'm so glad the weather is finally nice because we had a long, hard winter where it basically didn't stop snowing for 5 months straight. I love watching you play in the sandbox, jump on the tramp, drive your RC car, follow dad with your own lawn mower when he mows the lawn, or play imaginary games outside. It's so good for you! Your face turns bright red whenever you exert yourself and it's adorable.

It's hard to get you to sit still for long enough to read books with me, but when I manage, you love them. You giggle at the silly parts and snuggle up to me with your little legs stretched out next to mine. It's one of my favorite things ever. Your kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lang, told us that your reading and writing needs a little work. I'm going to try my hardest to be diligent with my time and work with you a lot this summer.

You are the cutest little thing and I love being your mom!

Love forever and always,

Mom

6 Year Stats:

Height: 46.5 inches (75th percentile)

Weight: 46.4 lbs (50th percentile)

Oliver: 11 Years Old

Dear Oliver,

You have gotten even more confident and sassy this past year, if that's even possible! I love how sure of yourself you are. You never seem intimidated by anything or anyone. You're really good at talking to people, even adults. They've never seemed to scare you and you're totally comfortable saying exactly what's on your mind in front of anyone. I love this about you! You like to use the word "witty" to describe yourself and I think you're trying to aspire to being the class clown at school. I'm glad that you want to be funny and outgoing, I just hope that you don't take it too far in settings where you need to be more respectful, like at church or school.

You found out today that you made it onto the 6th grade student council! I was almost positive you'd make it, but there was a tiny part of me that was nervous you'd find out you didn't make it and that it would ruin your birthday. Thankfully that didn't happen. You had a scare though! Apparently, the called the names of all the students who made student council and they didn't call your name. You were pretty bummed as you went to an assembly with the whole school where they let the new student council throw pies in the faces of the old student council. You had to sit there and watch it all while you felt sad. At the very end of the assembly after all the students had filed out except for the 5th graders, they got on the microphone and said, "Oh wait, we forgot to call a name! Oliver Alba is on student council too!" *Forehead slap* When you told me this story, I couldn't believe that they did that to you! You'd made it all along but they simply forgot to tell people. Ha ha! Oh well, it's a fun story to tell!

You're obsessed with airplanes these days. You've been watching lots of YouTube videos about how to fly and airplane and videos about how airplanes work. You follow me around the house telling me all kinds of things that you've learned and although it all goes over my head, it's adorable. You say that you want to be a pilot when you grow up but not for a living, just for fun like Pop Pop. You say that flying a commericial airplane is like being a bus driver of the air and you definitely don't want to spend your life doing that. For a career, you've been saying for years that you want to be a lawyer like your dad. I think that would be great! It'll be interesting to see if you stick with that or change your mind down the road.

You still occasionally wet your bed, which drives me bonkers. I don't know what to do about it! You haven't worn pull-ups for months but every week or two, you'll have an accident in the night. You're such a deep sleeper that it's been so hard for you to get a hang of this! You only have one more year until you'll be going away to Young Men's camp, so you really need to stop before then. I don't want to have to send you there in pull-ups! That would be embarrassing.

You're either super sweet or super sassy. There's not much in-between for you. When you're crabby, you're realllllly crabby. Sometimes you wake up in the morning angry for no reason and start yelling at me. You like to take things out on me. I hate it so much but one good thing about you is how quick you are to apologize. Once you get control of yourself, you'll say things like, "Mom, I'm so sorry I took my anger out on you. You didn't deserve that." It's nice that you can own when things are your fault and try to fix them.

Out of all my kids, you get the hangry-est. You can't control yourself if you're hungry at all. When you're freaking out about something, I try to point out to you that you're hungry. Once I get you to calm down enough to eat something, it's like a switch flips and you're totally fine. I'm trying to teach you to be more aware of your body and how your moods are linked to whether you're hungry or tired.

You're a picky eater, but only at home. When you go to friend's houses, you'll eat anything the mom puts in front of you. At home, I think you just like to be difficult because I let you get away with it. One day you'll tell me you like something and then the next, you'll refuse to eat it. It drives me nuts. Your favorite food is tortilla chips. I've started having to lock them away because I'll find you eating them all day long, dropping crumbs around that house as you go. 

You're active and like to play sports. You played basketball in the winter and are playing flag football right now. Your dad has been your coach for both. You're so lucky that he's willing to spend so much of his time with you. He gets kind of stressed out about your games and practices but you're always nice about thanking him. 

You have lots of friends and everyone likes you, but you rarely actually hang out with anyone outside of school. You've had a weekly standing playdate with Tommy Biehn since you were 2 yrs old, but other than that, you rarely want to have friends over. In the rare instances that you have had friends over, I have found you reading while the friend stands next to you not knowing what to do. Ha ha! You really are a homebody and love to just lay around the house and read. I don't mind at all because Eli has started being out with friends 24/7 and it makes me sad that he's never home. All I want is for my boys to be home with me all the time!

Oliver, you're an incredible kid and I seriously don't have any worries about you. You're a kind brother, loving son, and fun friend. You bring so much happiness into our home and I love being your mom. Oh how I wish I could slow down time and have you stay little forever! I can't wait to get to know you even better through the years and see what you do with your life.

I love you,

Mom

11 Year Stats:

Height:  59.7 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 93 lbs (75th percentile)