Dear Hammer Man,
Your birthday was on a Friday this time around. You took a poster to school earlier in the week with all these fun facts about you. I love everything about the poster, especially the baby pictures and all of the places you have visited. You were such a handsome baby. Those pictures melt my heart. Also, you are a very lucky kid to have traveled to so many places already! It's one of the things our family really enjoys doing together!
So Friday came and you were so excited. I made you your favorite breakfast these days: breakfast burritos.
You opened two presents, one from Baby and one from TJ. Then it was time to get to school! You took some treats to school to share with your friends.
After school you went over to the church for your first Cub Scouts meeting. You had a great time, except for when one kid talked in your face and his breath smelled like dry milk. It gave me a good laugh when you told me that.
Not long after Scouts then Dad was home and it was time for the movie theater! We nearly froze walking across the street from the parking lot, but we made it just on time. Gramma and Grandpa met us at the theater too. We saw Trolls. It was pretty cute!
After trolls you chose to have dinner from Subway. You still love sandwiches!
Then after sandwiches it was present time
and then your friend Steele came over for cake! We sang happy birthday and enjoyed the "hamburger." You picked that design out a few days earlier and it turned out to be one of the easiest cakes I've done!
You and Steele had a little play date and just like that it was time for bed. Your birthday was jam packed with fun. You were a little worried that it was going to be a downer since we didn't plan an actual party with friends. I reminded you that last year you cried when you had a party, but you still felt like someone had to come celebrate! Gramma and Grandpa and Steele filled the void and your day was pretty perfect.
Here are the pictures we took for our birthday photo shoot. I was kind of waiting for the weather to get a little nicer so we could go somewhere cool for pictures, but we needed the pictures for your baptism invitations too, so one day we just went out and took some in our backyard.
I love looking through these pictures and choosing my favorites. There were a lot of great ones. You are a photogenic guy.
I especially love that last one with the close up on your cute nose and freckles. You have the sweetest smile, and I can just hear that giggle I love coming through the pictures.
I also love that you are wearing a tie since almost every Sunday you insist on wearing a tie. It's pretty nice that you want to look your best for church. You are learning to sit quietly and not play until after the sacrament. The last few weeks you have done really well. When you get the signal that you can look through our church bag, you almost always go for the paper and pencil. Sometimes you write a story, but usually you draw roads. It's a very unique thing for a boy to draw! They are intricate multi-lane freeways with entrances and interchanges and signs. When it's warm outside you draw the same thing out on the basketball court with sidewalk chalk! The roads are so detailed and accurate because you are very observant when we are driving and often ask questions about the reasons for certain things you notice on the roads.
You are creative. You love to write books at home. You have a collection that you have written, and most of them you have illustrated. Mostly you love to write humorous short stories.
At 8 you are a pretty shy kid in front of a group. You are not shy around friends though. You still love to make people laugh.
Your favorite foods are sandwiches and breakfast burritos, of course. You also love spaghetti, hamburgers, berries, frozen grapes, ice cream, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, You eat almost any fruit or veggie! You aren't crazy about cereal because it's too crunchy, or steak because it's chewy, or fish, popcorn, or yogurt. You hate mushrooms and celery. Overall, you are a really great eater and you often make your own snacks. That's lucky since you are always hungry. I mean, ridiculously hungry. When we were at a play you couldn't even sit still because you were so hungry you were going to be sick. The funny thing is we left just an hour after dinner for the play. This has happened multiple times. I need to start carrying more snacks in my purse!
Because of your appetite, I wasn't too surprised to see that your height has jumped the past year. At your doctor check up we saw that you have gone from 50% height to 75%. Everywhere we go people who haven't seen you for a few months comment on how much you have grown!
You are still a great reader and do well with math. You weren't excited about school at the beginning of the year, but I haven't heard you complain lately. You love your teacher and your best friend is in your class. Friday, early out day, is still your favorite though.
Hammer, I love that you ask questions. Dad and I do our best to answer everything you throw at us, even when you asked how babies are made. I answered that question the best I could, keeping in mind your age. I wanted you to know that I will never turn down a question that you ask me. I hope you will always come to me when you need answers. Teaching you correct principles and sharing truth is a privilege of motherhood that I take very seriously.
Hammer, your stubbornness sometimes pushes me to the limit of my patience. I hope you always stand up for what you want though. I don't want anyone to tell you what to do and have you blindly obey. You just need to learn to listen to other sides before standing your ground, because there is usually a reason for what I am asking you. I'm sure that will come. You haven't been doing many things lately that I need to discipline you for! You're growing up and making choices that you know will make me and Dad happy. You love it when I make a chart to progress something, like piano practicing. You get great satisfaction out of working with an awesome end in sight.
You are a sweetheart, always sharing your treats with your siblings, or with friends, or with Freddie our elf. Thanks for doing your best to make people around you happy. That is a great gift that you can share with the world. Everyone can always use a smile.
I love you!
Mom
