8 years - WRM

Ryan turned 8 at the end of March, but his birthday fell right in the middle of Spring Break and a few days before Easter, so we held off on his party until April. A new indoor trampoline park opened right by our house called Urban Air which the kids just love! The kids got to have some private dodge ball games, which were a huge hit!

   

The kids were hilarious, and this is pretty much all they do these days. It's called the floss. You'll see boys doing it out on the baseball field during games, at school, you name it!

   

 Ryan and his two best chicks, Savannah and Addie

 Icees are all the rage and Charlie demanded he have one once he saw all the big kids with one.

  B couldn't be left out either

   

     

    

Love this big boy of mine! 

Hanging out on the Ropes Course

   

Still enjoying their Icees.

I think Ryan had a blast; he's met the sweetest friends since moving here. He has such a great little group of friends. Most either live in the neighborhood, play sports together, swim, or go to the church so they all seem to run in the same circles. He's really coming into his own as of late. Wanting more responsibility, more freedom, more alone time, etc. Basically, he's a teenager! He has taken on more chores, which is greatly appreciated. He folds laundry, takes out the trash, makes his bed, and is always a constant help with his brothers. I don't know what I would do without him!

His current favorites are reading, reading, and more reading. His nose is always in a book. We are going to have to start taking more trips to the library now that school is almost out because he's been checking out 3-4 chapter books a week from school. We did recently get him started on Harry Potter and he is loving it. I think that will keep him busy this summer. He begs to stay up at night and read in his bean bag chair or anytime we are driving, whether it's to the beach or a short trip to swim practice, he's reading! We recently switched the boys' rooms. Ryan now has his own room and a double bed, and he loves staying up later at night and reading. It's cute!

Here he is trying the zipline at Urban Air for the first time. He's been apprehensive that past few times, but finally got the courage up to do it and had a blast.

Currently, he wears size 8 or medium tops, size 7 or small/medium bottoms and size 3 shoes. He goes to bed by about 8:30 or so on school nights and gets up with his alarm by about 6:20 every morning. He beats me downstairs after making his bed, getting dressed, and then making his breakfast. He has started helping make his own lunch as well, which has been awesome! He has turned into such a great eater. He will try just about anything and eats almost exactly what we eat. His love for seafood has grown even more. He eats shrimp, all sorts of fish, crab claws, calamari, you name it - he will at least try it!

I took his measurements on my own since he hasn't been to the doctor in a while.

Height - 53 in. (87th % according to the CDC online calculator)

Weight - 63 lbs. (73rd % according to the online calculator)

He loves school, and seems to take after his parents in the people-pleaser department. He's very well behaved, which we are very thankful for and has made great grades all year. We'll find out next week, but so far, he's had straight A's for the year. His teacher basically tells me how he could run the class, and that he does at times. He gets to be teacher for a day next week because we won it in the school's silent auction.

He's had a great spring between swimming and baseball. He's really improved with both and seems to be loving it. We're looking forward to summer league swim team starting up soon. His baseball team really improved throughout the season. In their first playoff game, he hit his second homerun of the year! They lost their second game, but looking forward to kid pitch starting in the fall.

Here's the list of questions I try and ask the boys at least once a year without any prompting.....

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite food: Pizza, cookie cake, pancakes, carrots, macaroni, Pepsi

Favorite toy: Puzzles
Favorite show: Richie Rich and Spy shows; the Greatest Showman
When I grow up I want to be: Engineer (he's learning what types of jobs make more money than his previous choices in past years)
Favorite thing to play: games on the phone/iPad and basketball
Favorite animal: cheetah
Favorite thing to wear: this Orange workout outfit (Under Armour in specific)
Favorite book: Geronimo Stilton
Best friend: Noah and Ethan, Olivia and Nora
What you sleep with at night: nothing :( He gave up the lovey once we moved here
Favorite song: rock music and Broadway songs
What are you really good at: doing work at school
Favorite thing to do with mom: Go out to eat and watch movies (same as last year)
Favorite thing to do with dad:  going to the pool and to sports practices
Favorite sport to play: swim team, baseball, & basketball
Favorite place to go: Target and Barnes & Noble and restaurants (pretty much same as last year)
Favorite place to go out to eat: Moe's BBQ, seafood restaurants and Mexican restaurants

We know we are so lucky to have him and I am thankful for him each and every day!