Garrett: Seven Years!

Well, we didn't have a global pandemic hit a month before Garrett's seventh birthday (and dare I say the pandemic seems to finally be easing into an endemic?) so I think it's safe to say Garrett's seventh year is off to a pretty solid (and hopefully normal!) start.

I hate that the photographer didn't center this photo, but Darrell didn't think that was reason to retake it. I begrudgingly agreed

Birthday Interview

Age: 7

Height: 3 feet, 9.83 inches

Weight: 45 pounds, 6 ounces

Still a little peanut, but looking like a dapper young lad getting his hair cut with Daddy!

What is your favorite color? Blue

What is your favorite animal? Turtle

What is your favorite book? Dog Man

What is your favorite song? Go Tell It on the Mountain

What is your favorite sport? Football

It'll be a good number of years before we'll even consider letting him play organized football, so fortunately he's been content playing other sports as well. Dad (and Grandpa) took him to a golf course for the first time last summer and he definitely enjoyed it

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? Go outside

We got outside at the Turner County Fair with a kindergarten classmate of his and this kid was a rockstar on the rides! He was a little intimidated by the Ferris Wheel, but not so much so that he wouldn't give it a try

What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? Fish

It needs to be noted that this kid got up at 6 am not one, not two, but three mornings in a row to fish with Daddy and Granddad at the beach. Not only did he last nearly three hours each morning on the pier (despite only catching a handful of things--including a crab!) but he was also able to stay composed and not let the early mornings affect his behavior during the day

At the beach or on the ice, fishing is always on this kid's radar!

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike

Where is your favorite place to go? The beach and lake

Fireworks were a big hit at the lake last summer!

What is your favorite fruit? Strawberry

What is your favorite vegetable? Cauliflower

What is your favorite cereal? Rice Krispies

What is your favorite treat? Fun Dip

What is your favorite meal? Beer Cheese Soup

What makes you happy? Cuddling with my animals and playing outside

He also very much enjoyed checking on "his" sunflowers while playing outside--and believe it or not, this isn't even the full height they got to!

What makes you sad? When I don't catch any fish while fishing

Who are your best friends? Amira and Emmett

What do you want to be when you grow up? A cashier

What was your favorite part about last year? Going to Air Madness

Air Madness was a fun birthday outing for all of us!

What is one thing you want to do this year? Get a pet 

It's no surprise he wants a pet. He's always been our little nurturer, but Mommy and Daddy aren't convinced that he's ready to handle the full-time responsibility of a pet when the cuddling fun is over (and Mommy and Daddy definitely don't want to handle that responsibility themselves right now)

I mentioned it in Garrett's five year post and for reference sake it bears repeating now--our love for this kid is unimaginable, but boy oh boy does he challenge us with his behaviors sometimes. He will still have periodic full-blown tantrums, and though he may be small for his size, he can create quite the big scene (and make himself rather difficult to relocate to a "safe" space like his room). Fortunately, he has the cognitive awareness to limit these behaviors to our house, and as such our pediatrician feels pretty confident that he will outgrow the behavior on his own, but man oh man when he is in the middle of a meltdown I have zero feelings of relief that these behaviors are only happening at home (or confidence that these tantrums will stop). We left his well visit with some strategies to try to implement and a plan for what to do if they get worse and start interfering with life outside the home, but also with the reassurance that while this behavior isn't super common at seven, it isn't outside the realm of normal, especially given everything the pandemic and everything the past few years.

When he isn't challenging us with his behaviors, he is surprising us with his creativity and ingenuity. He has an idea and a plan for everything (from what he wants to sew from a blank piece of fabric to how he's going to make lots of money by having a lemonade stand this summer), and while he doesn't always have the best follow through on this ideas (there are LOTS of half-finished projects around this house), I love his dedication to his ideas and his willingness to put them in motion. Even as a toddler he was the kid who decided to push a chair over to the fridge to pour himself a glass of water because he didn't want to wait for Mommy to get it for him (something his big brother probably never even considered, I might add), so it's really fun to see some of those same habits and tendencies grow with him. I don't always love the half-sown pieces of fabric that I absolutely CAN'T throw away because he'll definitely remember that he wants to finish that project as soon as I do, but getting tangible products that show us a glimpse of how the wheels are spinning in his head is fun nonetheless.

And, because it wouldn't be a birthday post without a photo dump, here goes nothing!

Perhaps one of my favorite church memories to date. Kindergarteners always learn the Lord's Prayer as part of their curriculum, and toward the end of the school year, they recite it in front of the church. Because of the pandemic, Garrett was the only kindergartener in church that morning, and despite being up there by himself (which made me super nervous!) he ROCKED IT. Like--nary a mistake and perfectly clear and audible (even behind his mask)--rocked it. We were SO proud

We were also so proud of this kid for having a wonderfully fantastic kindergarten year despite many weird and unusual circumstances that were out of his control

Not going to lie, I spent waaaay more time than I'm willing to admit trying to figure out if it was William or Garrett in this photo. Ultimately I decided it was Garrett--and decided that as a result it needed to make his post

He tackled pumpkin carving like he does everything else--by jumping in and doing it. No plan, no sketch, nothing but an idea in his head. And you know what--it turned out pretty darn awesome (and aside from scooping out the guts, he did basically all of it by himself!)

Also--decorating a gingerbread house requires the same amount of focus and concentration as carving a pumpkin (note the tongue sticking out in both pictures!)

Happy Birthday kiddo! You may not have loved the flavor of the pink bubblegum Mario cake you "had" to have, but you didn't complain at all and actually seemed to enjoy watching your brothers and cousins really enjoy the cake. May you never lose your kind, caring, sweet heart!