Theodore is 8

(I started this back in October hoping to post before Max's birthday...I'm ridiculous...thanks for loving me anyways).
 

At the end of September my sweet, sweet Theodore turned eight years old. I can hardly believe that my first child is already eight. My parents came in for the weekend to celebrate and we had a wonderful time. Birthdays are pretty special in our house and the birthday person gets to choose the food and activities for the day. We had a slow morning at home, as it was pouring rain. Theo picked pizza for lunch and then we took him to Sky Zone to jump jump jump. The boys always ask to go to trampoline parks, so we figured this was a good time to say yes. He was fortunate that there was a Chicago Bears game on in the afternoon, so we curled up to watch, while opening presents during commercial breaks.

This years presents were themed around: sports, bison, art, and presidents. After the game ended (with a WIN), we headed to his restaurant of choice for dinner- Buffalo Wild Wings.  Theo's favorite food is a good cheeseburger, so no matter where we go that's almost always his pick.  We finished off the evening with singing and cake and tucked our big kid into bed.

It is so fun to watch Theo grow.  He's all boy these days.   I see him stretching to be this big kid, but have reminders that he's still a little tender soul too.  He sleeps with his special teddy bear Robert, he often has SEVERAL stuffed animals in his bed, his Bison blanket, and many other covers.  Theo is our resident hoarder and everything is super special to him...so his room tends to be a hot mess, with all surfaces covered.

He has gotten into collecting Teeny Mates (small figures of NFL and MLB players), he started collecting baseball cards, has cards from friends, and little legos that are frequently scattered across the floor, and there are always piles of books in his bed.  I fear that I never give Theo the 1:1  time that he needs.  I think he'd work on his detailed art more or play games more if there weren't some little brothers always running around.

It's a joy to watch him grow and express himself.  He's a huge helper around the house most of the time and is a great big brother.  He's kind and encouraging to Max (most of the time) and has enjoyed Woodrow as a sports playing companion (most of the time).  Theo's idea of relaxing, which is rare, is reading.  I often catch him with the light on after bedtime.

He's a Bear in Cub Scouts this year, which means he gets to work on some cool awards.  At summer camp he got to shoot a BB gun and do archery, he earned a really special Nova and Supernova STEM award at the end of last year, and he recently earned his whittling chip which allows him to carry a pocket knife with him to Scout events.  He's also been logging all the hikes we take him on and he got a hiking stick with some emblems to add.

In the Fall he was more into baseball and eventually became a football fan, so he didn't play any sports this Fall.  We're thinking he may give baseball a try in the Spring.  He did swimming lessons all last year and we started up with Goldfish Swim School here and really like their program.  He's eager to "graduate", but I'd like to see him stick with it a bit longer.

I'm really proud of Theodore and what an amazing kid he is.  I'm so blessed to be his mom.