8 years old??!!

Wow. I can hardly believe that you are 8 years old already. I'm so proud of you. You are growing up to be a wonderful young gentleman that goes to school every day and does your homework almost every night.

One of my favorite things lately has been watching you with your sisters and brothers. You adore Mayla. You love to hold her and cuddle her and can't stand it when she cries. Kadin and Emma follow you around the house like a typical big brother and you like to play the "Big Tiger game" with them. You all turn all the lights off and pretend to find tigers in the house. You run and scream when you find them, then giggle and go back more more.

This has been a huge year of growth for you. First, you learned to swim. At your friend Jordon's party, you swam from one end of the pool to the other all for the chance to jump off the diving board for the first time...you know what, you rocked it and swam all the way across. You then proceeded to jump, dive and flip. That day, among many, filled our hearts with joy. You also learned how to do backflips on the Finnestad trampoline and how to jump your bike off a ramp at grandpa's house. You were able to drive your first car this year! We were so excited for you when you found out that you are tall enough to drive your own gokart. The look on your face was priceless!

Your best friends are James Finnestad, Ryan from your class, and Spencer from our neighborhood. Your favorite thing to play with your friends is Star Wars and wall ball. You had a couple of girls fighting to be your girlfriend and picked the winner by playing eenie-meenie-miny-mo (which sparked a little discussion about girls feelings with me!). And you have brought more then one love letter home from school.

Your favorite toys are guns, lightsabers, and legos. You have been creating some amazing masterpieces.

You have a great second grade teacher Ms. Clark and she really keeps you hopping. You love math and tolerate reading. But as the months have passed this year you have started to enjoy reading more. It has been fun to watch you grow. I remember a few months ago when you didn't want to read anything, but now you read everything around you and have even started reading to Kadin and Emma before bed.

After a year of asking and a year of saving you made your first big purchase. You are the proud owner of a brand new Nintendo DS. $149.00. In cash. All by yourself. And you love it!

Thanks for being my big, little boy.

Mommy