Austin // 7 Years

Somebody turned SEVEN a few days ago!!! It still seems like yesterday that this kid was small enough to carry around and keep snuggled up on my lap. Now he's attending school all day long and has his own bedroom (after years of sharing with this or that sister) and is reading books!

Austin wanted to invite every single boy in his class at school to his birthday party, plus a couple boys from the other class who had been his friends in kindergarten. It was his first birthday party (because I'm a slacker who didn't want to deal with executing birthday parties for the past several years) and he had an absolute blast. He requested chicken enchiladas for his birthday dinner and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday cake.

As per usual, pictures will be forthcoming. I still haven't edited the pictures I took of Lydia back in June for her second birthday!

Austin at 7 years old:

- Trades Pokémon cards with his friends after school every day until his sisters and I yell at him through the window to come get in the car

- Can do backbends really well and is working on getting strong enough to do kickovers

- Still loves playing soccer. We need to get him into a league that plays more than one season!

- Doesn't have a banana per day anymore, but that's mainly because he's at school for lunch now and bananas don't keep well in his lunch box that he tosses around.

- The best helper. He's very willing to lend a helping hand at home and at school. His teacher said he's the first to volunteer to help a struggling classmate or to complete a classroom task.

- Responsible

- Kind

- Thoughtful

- Generous

- A great mind for mathematics. He's already doing multiplication in his head.

- I'm still amazed by his spatial awareness. Just today he created a 3D model of a local building without any help from parents, and it looked very neat. If I hadn't sat there at the table and watched him make it, I wouldn't have guessed it was made by a first grader!

- We're currently reading the first Harry Potter book for the second time, and he's looking forward to finally moving on to the second book. (Nicole is looking forward to it too, haha!)

- Protective of his little sisters, especially Lydia

- Wants to be friends with everyone

- Enjoys playing Minecraft, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Lego Harry Potter, and Kirby

- Has so much energy!!!

- Still has a tendency to be snuggly (when he's not bouncing off the walls). Old habits die hard!

- Lost a total of 4 teeth so far. He doesn't patiently wait for them to fall out--he pulls, wiggles, and twists it until he manages to extract them himself.

- Loves to ride his bike and his razor scooter

- Doug took him skiing for the first time this past winter and he handled it pretty well

- When we are voting on a playground to visit, he always insists that whichever one we choose NEEDS to have swings

- Quick to pick up on new skills

- Is very good at pacing himself with candy and treats. He'll get a pack of candies and make them last for several days, just eating a couple here and there.

- Still loves building with Legos and has an entire table in his room he can use to build at

- Still has the best belly laugh (I hope he always has a contagious laugh)

- He's a budding comedian, actually. He's made a few jokes in the past year that are quite witty and make Doug and I snort-laugh. He likes to make others laugh and seems to have made it his personal goal to get me to laugh whenever he can. He takes great pride in it and always points out, "Made you laugh!" when one of his off-the-nose comments elicits a chuckle from me.

- (To build on the previous concept: Last year for Mother's Day he was asked "What makes your mom laugh?" and his answer was, "I have tried everything to make her laugh and it doesn't work" so yes, he really does consider a great accomplishment to get me to laugh, apparently)

- I taught him some piano this summer, so he can play a bit now. He actually has a fantastic ear and can sound songs out without needing music. He transposed "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" into a minor key and called it "Old MacDonald Lost His Farm" and I love him for it. He performed a minor version of "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" that he had created at his Kindergarten talent show back in the spring. He went through a Music In Minor phase, I suppose!

Oh, this kid. Doug and I often ask each other where on earth he came from because he really is awesome. I have always been nervous and a little freaked out at the concept of my children becoming preteens/teens, but I'm quite excited to see the kind of teen and adult this kid will be someday. We love him dearly and our home is a better place with him in it. Happy 7th birthday, Austin!