Eight Years Old!

My baby turned eight years old today! Naturally, he can't stand it if I refer to him as my baby, but since he's my youngest child, he'll always be my baby. Here are eight ways I would describe Oliver Elliot:

1. EXTROVERT!!! Oliver thrives on playing with other kids. He'd literally skip a meal and/or skip watching tv if that would give him more time to play with kids in the neighborhood. In general he's not one who gives a lot of attention to our schedule, but when he's looking forward to something like spending time with his cousins or coming to Aunt Janet's house, then he is very fixated on the calendar as he counts down the days!

2. Loves to hug! Physical affection is definitely one of his primary love languages. When he recounts his favorite parts of the day, he almost always includes something along the line of "cuddling with mommy."

3. Likes most foods. There would be some dishes, such as white chicken chili, I'd have to eat the whole thing myself if it weren't for Oliver. I'm very thankful that Oliver isn't a picky eater. He still has a long way to go with his manners at the table. This child seems to prefer to eat everything with his fingers rather than silverware.

4. TALKATIVE. This child talks nonstop for hours on end. Sometimes I enjoy listening to him, like when he and I are going for a walk, and other times (say when he crawls into bed at 6:15am) I ask him to give me a few minutes of peace and quiet. He doesn't need anyone to be listening to him for him to talk. He sits in the back row of the minivan and talks sometimes to himself for hours on long road trips. 

5. Loves music! I enjoy some but definitely not all of the music that he enjoys. Sometimes that means he'll listen to music on the Echo dot in his bedroom or uses headphones so I don't have to hear it. 

6. Loves to be outdoors. In fact he's been known to be in such a hurry to get out in the morning that he's gone out before he's even changed out of his pajamas. Oops! He's often outside until I call him in when it's getting close to his bedtime. When we go for a walk, he often discusses the plants and animals that we see along the way. It's very exciting for him when he spots a toad or a deer or a blue jay or a squirrel, etc. When it's the slightest bit warm outside, he loves to get wet whether that means throwing water balloons, squirting water guns, or dumping a bucket of water over his head. This child also has a fixation with the weather; he constantly asks me what the current temperature is or what the forecast is. Maybe he'll be a meteorologist one day?

7. Imaginative! Oliver often creates stories (see #4) and also loves to talk about what his life will be like when he's an adult. He assures me that his children are going to give me lots of hugs. Lately he's been saying that he's going to have a hot tub and two horses. Both of my boys insist they are going to live near me. I would be thrilled if that is what actually happens! Memorizing is a challenge for Oliver. He's come a long way with memorizing verses for AWANA, but in general he has the hardest time remembering things like the names and values for coins, the names of cousins, Aunts, Uncles, etc. As his mother and teacher, I am trying to be patient and hoping before he enters middle school he knows that a penny is worth one cent. He did memorize my phone number recently!

8. Generous! He is generally very prone to sharing with others. For example, when were out in the water at the beach chatting with a man, he invited the man back to Aunt Janet's cabana for a cookie. The man declined, but he said it had been a long time since someone offered him a cookie. Oliver often offers the kids in the neighborhood something to eat or drink when they are playing in our yard. If a family member asks Oliver to share something he's eating, he almost always says yes.

This birthday is definitely different from his previous seven birthdays. We are spending it on Long Island with Aunt Janet for one thing. Due to COVID-19, we probably won't see Paul's parents. My dad and Margie are coming up to the Poconos to celebrate their 3rd anniversary next week, and they are going to visit us for a little bit on Monday morning on their way to the resort. I tried to get donuts at Dunkin' this morning, but the restaurant was still closed due to electricity issues. Aunt Janet had some gluten free chocolate donut holes in the freezer that she defrosted. She also made hot chocolate and cut up some cantaloupe. I had my usual oatmeal, but the kids enjoyed the donut holes and hot chocolate. The weather forecast isn't great for today. We probably won't be going to the beach as planned; we had planned to eat ice cream at the make your own ice cream sundae booth at the beach tonight. I brought two gifts from home for Oliver to open this morning. The kids were able to try out his new hoverboard some before it started raining. Grandpa and Gubba gave him the hoverboard. I've been assembling the Paw Patrol toy that Paul and I got Oliver. Aunt Janet purchased a candle for his birthday cake. I brought Paw Patrol napkins, cups, plates, tablecloth, and a birthday banner. Aunt Janet bought him a Paw Patrol coloring book and balloon at Dollar Tree earlier this week. We usually can't watch Nick Jr because we don't have cable tv, but I let Oliver watch a few episodes of Paw Patrol on her tv this morning due to the weather. Hopefully the kids will at least be able to swim in her pool at some point today. The high is only supposed to be 75 so I doubt I'll get in the water. Thankfully the pool is heated to 90 degrees. Paul was bummed not to be with Oliver for his birthday, but he did talk to Oliver on the phone this morning. 

Tomorrow morning we plan to leave and drive to Hurricane Harbor (the Six Flags water park in NJ) before driving home. Hopefully it won't be raining when we're in NJ. We love Oliver very much and hope he has a very special birthday today. Now that he's eight years old, it means for the first time in a little over 12 years I won't have any kids using a car seat or booster seat in our vehicle. The time is just flying by! For the next four months my kids will be 2 years apart - 8, 10, and 12 years old. Thank you, Lord for bringing Oliver into our family eight years ago. 2012 is a year I will never forget since I spent 18 weeks of 2012 in either the hospital or a Ronald McDonald House. 2020 is a year I don't think ANYONE will ever forget due to social distancing, masks, quarantines, almost everything being cancelled, etc. Hopefully by the time Oliver turns nine most things will have truly gotten back to normal.