worth remembering

sam turned 7 today.
(and, yes, i didn't stutter. 7!!??)
all years are worth remembering,
but there was just something different about this one.
he seemed to really make the leap from little kid to "now i'm turning into a real kid".
i've always suspected that i will really excel in my mothering as my children get older.
i love babies,
but i think my parenting style fits older kids better,
so now here we are,
and i think it's working.
i enjoy having the logical part of the brain develop more,
and that is noteworthy of sam.
logical he is.
total side note to illustrate.
last sunday when we got home from church the children were climbing the walls more than a typical day.
in an effort to not blow up i calmly suggested to sam that he go outside and pick tomatoes.
he went his way and calmness prevailed.
he came back in empty handed.
pete asked where the tomatoes were.
he said he didn't pick any.
pete said "your mother asked you to pick tomatoes."
to which he calmly replied,
"no she didn't ask. it was a suggestion."
can't argue with that.
i have to choose my words wisely with him.

some of the things that are worth remembering about sam in this very moment are....
1. how much he loves school,
all of it,
the school work, homework, reading, chinese, recess, walking groups, lunch, etc.
he is a self-motivator.
like how he wants to read 100 minutes every day so he can get more reading tickets than he did before.
aside from that though,
just a self-motivator.
you don't have to tell him when to get out his homework every day.
chances are he is telling within 30 minutes of being home.

2. he is a soccer boy.
he LOVES soccer!
pretty much lives for it.
he's pretty sure he's almost a pro.
he works really hard and does well.
he loves to score and loves to win.
he loves to be the scorer, but he is equally happy when someone else on his team scores.
sometimes he accidentally steals the ball from his own players,
but i know it's not to be a ball hog.
he loves his team.
i once overheard another teammate complaining about another player's skills
to which sam responded "that at least he could kick the ball and that is all that matters."
he added that everyone on the team adds something different.
he loves to block and to score but never play goalie (which i am totally ok with).
every time he scores a goal he gets to choose a treat for the family after the game.
he almost always chooses a hamburger.

3. he loves long hair.
he decided this summer he was going to grow it out.
he got a tiny trim when school started,
and it has been growing ever since.
he is certain that when it gets long it will be as curly as his dad's.
not there yet but maybe someday.
it does have some wave,
and i actually think it's kinda cute.

4. he has re-discovered his love for building.
he likes to build things out of legos and boxes,
but he really likes to manage building projects and drawing up designs.
would that be considered a project manager?
like how he decided we needed a tree house.
he moved a piece of plywood to the tree to make a ramp,
and he was telling his brother and sister exactly how to push the playhouse that was on the ground into the tree to make a tree house.
he liked managing that,
and he's a natural manager if i must say so myself.
he also draws up plans for pete to build things,
like his chair that he needed to reach the top drawer of his dresser.

5. i adore spying on him at night.
he always has some project going on in bed.
oftentimes it is reading or book,
but it can also be creating a book,
or drawing in his notebook.
he has drawn pictures of him as a professional soccer player.
that precious time in bed seems to be when his brain really oozes out,
and that's when i feel i get to tap into the inner workings of that boy.

6. his 7 year old party will go down in history.
it was pretty awesome.
he wanted a halloween costume party with a spook alley.
this boy is a dreamer and planner
(as am i),
so i do all in my power to make it happen.
i say we nailed it,
in a 7 year old world at least.
who can complain about a spook alley complete with black light spiderweb hallways,
bat & spider tunnels that you have to crawl through,
spiderweb obstacles,
ghost alleys,
dead bodies in coffins,
bone graveyard,
and body parts table?
there were no complaints,
and i hope he always has the memory.

7. he is just as precious to me as he was on this day 7 years ago.
from the second i laid eyes on him
i felt like i had always known him.
year after year that feels so true.
he is so much like me,
therefore, i can relate so well to him.
he is a treasure.
each year becomes more exciting than i ever could have imagined it would be.