Eight

Eight! My sweet boy is eight. 

We were talking about the day he was born, and he found it to be absolutely hilarious when I told him he'd peed on me pretty much immediately after birth. Bodily functions are pretty much his favorite thing to talk about right now. That's normal for an 8-year-old, right?

Christopher has been running all over the neighborhood for the past few weeks with a newly discovered group of boys. We have new neighbors who have twin boys his age, and he has met a few other boys in the neighborhood as well. I love it when the doorbell rings and one of the boys is there asking for Christopher to come out and play. He was given rollerblades for his birthday, and he intends to use them to race another friend on his scooter. I am sure that will end well.

School is going well so far. I think he spends most of the day reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, but hopefully he is doing some math, too. 

We were recently driving in the car, and Christopher was making up a song. The lyrics involved Chuck E. Cheese flying the in sky, and Clare declared Christopher to be the most "random person" she knows. He is constantly coming up with different songs and stories. I frequently hear him talking to himself in his room or in the bathroom. 

He loves playing outside games, including Sandman and Ghost in the Graveyard. We camped with friends last weekend and he spent the entire weekend covered in mud.

He is still a sweetheart and tries to help me out around the house or do nice things for me. He is also brilliant at manipulating me into doing whatever he wants. I know he is doing this, but it is hard to resist his huge blue eyes.

He is constantly coming up with new business ideas or moneymaking schemes. Few have panned out. The latest is that he wants to learn the trumpet so he can stand on the street corner and make money. I had to gently explain that he probably wouldn't earn much that way, especially as a beginner. 

He wants to play basketball this winter, and to do Cub Scouts. He had fun playing baseball this summer. He did not have fun at theater camp, which is too bad, because he is so funny and creative.

Some favorites at 8: reading (mostly graphic novels), playing outside, the Nintendo Switch, Roblox, Octonauts (we are back on that show for some reason), pizza, Annie's mac and cheese (although he assures me he likes my homemade version, too), fruit of all kinds, talking incessantly about business plans.

Some dislikes: taking showers, COVID tests, attending Clare's soccer games, spinach, hiking (although he loves exploring in the woods - just don't mention the word hike), when Clare "looks at me in that way she knows I don't like."

We had a family party for his actual birthday, which was Monday, that included presents and a trip to Culver's for ice cream and cheese curds. We are having another extended family get together on Friday, which will include pizza and a Dairy Queen cookie dough blizzard cake.

Happy birthday, Christopher! I can't believe you are 8.