Moses: 7 Years Old

 

Dear Moses,

You are 7 years old today! I can't believe how fast time is flying with you. I wish so much I could freeze time. I cried myself to sleep last night thinking about how little time I have left with you and how much I'm going to miss you when you're all grown up and not living with us anymore. I know that probably sounds crazy because we still have 10 years with you, but I already think about it all the time.

You play so hard and are so busy! You're constantly running around with your brothers and love having friends over to play. It's actually pretty hard to get any one-on-one time with you. At the end of the day, your dad and I frequently talk about how we didn't get much quality time with you.We have to be very deliberate about making it happen or it doesn't happen. One thing you absolutely love lately is going on bike rides. You beg me & dad to go with you. You never need to go far or stay out too long, but just riding around the neighborhood for a few minutes with you makes you so happy. It's adorable. 

You are crazy about screens! Video games, YouTube, and shows on Netflix are all your jam. Your absolute favorite right now though is building worlds in Minecraft. You frequently play with Isaac so I don't mind it too much because at least you're socializing and bonding with each other. You wake up first thing in the morning asking if you can do screens and it doesn't stop until bedtime. I really try to not allow any screens on school days and only 2 hrs/day on weekends, but I occasionally give in to your begging and let you do a little more. It's terrible, I know. 

You are by far my laziest child. You won't clean a damn thing! You treat the entire house as your garbage can, just dropping wrappers wherever you go. When I assign the simplest tasks to you, you act like I'm asking you to scrub the whole house clean from top to bottom. You also hate to read and despite being a little behind where you should be by the end of 1st grade, you do everything you can to get out of it. You loved going to school this past school year though and absolutely loved your teacher, Mrs. Palmer. You thought she was a celebrity! She's in our ward so we see her outside of school frequently. Every time you spot her, your face lights up and you exclaim, "Mom! There's Mrs. Palmer!" as if you'd just spotted the queen. It's so cute. 

Your favorite foods are ramen noodles, popcorn, plain white bread straight from the bag, watermelon, and strawberries. I have a pretty hard time getting you to eat any protein. You're a stinker about eating what I made at dinnertime. You sneak candy and junk food whenever you get a chance. Sometimes I'll come downstairs to check on you after playing with your friends in the basement and I'll discover that you've pounded an entire bag of Cheetos or marshmallows. You also love soda and beg me all the time for them. Giving kids soda is one of my least favorite things because no matter how many times you promise me you'll finish it, I'll find a warm, 3/4 full can somewhere. It drives me crazy!!!

You're really independent and are not snuggly at all. I wish you'd just lay on the couch and snuggle with me once in awhile but you have places to go and things to do! You get anxious about being late and are always the one yelling at everyone to hurry up when we're trying to get out the door. You also have anxiety about the car running out of gas. You're constantly monitoring the gas gauge from the backseat and are telling me we need to go to the gas station, even if we have half a tank left.  

You hate praying and going to church. Whenever we tell you it's your time to say the prayer at mealtime or bedtime, you fight us and if we make you, you pretend you don't know how to pray, as if you've never heard one before. Every week during church, you ask us how much longer until it's over. Hopefully this is just a phase and that you end up liking the gospel! 

You're still really into playing "Mad Cat" with Isaac and will spend the whole day talking to each other in these weird little baby voices mixed with meowing. It's hilarious and irritating at the same time. You love to jump on the tramp and run through the sprinklers. Your dad reads to you and Isaac every night and I love snuggling with you while we listen because it's one of the only times you'll hold still and be near me! 

I'm excited to spend more time with you this summer. We're going to Lake Powell, St. George, Island Park, and Bear Lake, so we're going to have a lot of fun days ahead! I'm excited to have you home from school with me and be able to spend more quality time with you. You're the sweetest little guy with the most energy and the cutest laugh. I love being your mom so much! I don't know how I got so lucky!

Love forever and ever,

Mom

7 Year Stats:

Weight: 52 lbs (50th percentile)

Height: 48.5 in (60th percentile)

Oliver: 12 Years Old

Dear Oliver, 

You're 12 years old today! You are such an amazing kid. Anyone who knows you can tell you how impressive you are. You do well in school, have lots of friends, and aren't afraid to talk to people and make your opinions known. You're funny, kind, and witty. The things you say kill me. For example, as I was wrapping your birthday presents last night, I told you I was worried that I didn't have enough for you and that you were going to be disappointed with your gifts. You came over to me, wrapped your arms around me, and said, "Mom, just so you know..... it will never be enough." Ha ha! You're such a little stinker! I was expecting you to tell me that you'd be happy no matter what. 

Your obsession with aviation is going strong. You spent last summer building an airplane from scratch with a foam poster board, servos, and a remote control. Every time you'd take it out for a test flight, you'd make tweaks to it to make it fly even higher and for longer. I can't even tell you how many hours you have spent on it through the past year. The plane is incredible! Pop pop gave you his airplane manuals from when he was studying for his pilot's license and you have spent lots of time pouring over the technical books. I won't be surprised if you end up doing something with airplanes for your career, but who knows. When I asked you recently what you want to be when you grow up, you said, "I don't know, mom! Wherever the wind takes me!" 

You are such a caring brother. When Isaac got hurt recently and needed stitches, you were very concerned for him and kept trying to comfort him. You don't like to help around the house much but if you can tell that dad and I are getting stressed, you'll always step in to help. You've started babysitting for us this past year since Eli is frequently out with friends on weekends. You play with the younger boys, read them bedtime stories, and most of the time, you even clean the kitchen for extra money. 

Your teacher Mrs. Holmes called us recently to tell us how special you are. She said she's been teaching for decades and that you are one of the most impressive kids she's ever taught. She said that you will say things in class that she has never even thought of before and that you're always trying to see both sides of things. She said she's dying to know what you end up doing with your life because she knows you're going to go far. That was sure a fun phone call to get! You've served on student council this school year and have had a great experience with it. 

Your teeth have been falling out like crazy! You recently lost 3 teeth in 3 days. You have your front few teeth but huge gaps on the sides with no teeth. It's pretty cute. You have an orthodontist consultation soon to see if you're ready for braces. You have a bit of an overbite that needs to be corrected. I want to get you started ASAP so that you can get it over with! 

Overall, you are a pretty content kid. You entertain yourself and like to spend a lot of time in your room reading. Everyone loves you but you don't hang out with friends too often. You'd rather do your own thing! I have a feeling that will change once you go to junior high in the fall and all of the kids start getting together more frequently. Right now, I'm happy just having you home with me. I wish I could keep you little forever! Even though I know you're going to do great, I don't want to send you to junior high! 

You are a talker! You follow me around the house telling me about airplanes, the books you're reading, video games, etc. You always have something to say and I love it! Life with you is magical and I'm soaking up every minute I get with you because you're so precious to me!

Love always,

Mom

12 Year Stas

Weight: 100 lbs (70th percentile)

Height: 62.2 in (90th percentile)