Nine
Our Trey Isaiah turns nine years old today.
He's a big kid now. Who knows when that really becomes official, but I feel the need to quickly declare it because time is going by so fast and the shudder-inducing label of tween is right around the corner.
But he is. Big. Tall and thin except for the belly. Quite handsome, though the type of handsome is changing. Don't take this the wrong way, Trey, but cute has expired a little bit. Maybe it's the glasses, and intelligent has now surpassed cute.
Dare I say things are a bit awkward. I remember clear as day on my ninth birthday, standing in my grandmother's kitchen, my aunt saying to me, "Nine is a weird age." And it was.
So far for Trey, eight has been pretty different. He's working on finding his place. Creating new balance between independence andlaziness still needing his Mama. While dealing with the ever-present anxieties, trying to find a creative outlet and something to be his. Figuring out relationship dynamics. Deciding which parts of little-kid-ness he needs to let go of, mostly for appearance's sake, and which parts of grown-up-ness he actually wants to embrace.
We've had conversations this past year that I was in no way prepared for. The hard-wrought shelter continues to crumble, and we try our best to explain to Trey why the world is as it is. That it's not his job to worry over things he can't change. That we will always love and protect him. That Jesus is chasing hard after his heart.
Trey is so very funny, and very much enjoys making people laugh. Lately he's been making up songs, narration-type to describe what is going on in his life at the moment. This is something his Daddy used to do long ago, when we first got married, before reality set in. Never stop singing, Trey.
He continues to love board games, card games, and science. Our in-residence weather man, since Christmas equipped with his own laptop, gives us occasional updates on where the world's daily small earthquakes occurred. And then whenever we have a big weather event, he goes continuous coverage mode.
Basketball, baseball, and golf are all the rage as well. Kid knows oh so much about scores and names and stats of the pros. He plays in the yard or driveway, doing his very best to improve on some already impressive skills without the help of teammates or an opponent. Still won't budge on joining a team, but progress has been made.
About a month ago, Trey willingly went to kids' basketball camp at Brandon's school. It took a lot of courage on his part, and he was practically floating on a cloud every night when he got home. The drills! The games! The shooting contests! He won second place in the final shooting contest, beating out kids headed for 8th grade this fall. That's my Trey. Who he is, and who he could be.
Then a couple weeks back, Trey got very upset that Aden learned to swim underwater, while he couldn't. Every time Trey would start putting the goggles on to try, he would choke up and say, "I just can't do it." So we broke it down into teeny, tiny, very doable steps. After a few hours, kid was going after diving sticks at the bottom of the pool and doing cannonballs without a life jacket. And happy as a clam.
Yes, the fears are real. Trey's poor brain allows him very little confidence, gets overwhelmed by big picture, seizes up at the thought of not being in control, and always, always imagines the very worst.
Slowly, as his parents, we are learning to deal with some of his fears. Like with the pool, breaking things down. Like with camp, trying to shift from the worst that could happen, to the best. For bedtime issues, now entering their seventh year, I try to give him some scenario to think of as he lays with eyes shut, so he won't sit there and invent potential disasters.
And above all, every day and often over and over every day, we try to stress to Trey that his confidence can come from God. That God is in perfect control. That the Bible has 365 do not fears just for him. That he is loved more than he could ever imagine, and that Jesus is with him every moment. Oh how we pray for this boy's salvation.
Trey can be very kind and helpful when he wants to. In a cooperative mood, he can play by himself without screens involved. This usually involves reading, writing a story, drawing a map, or building something out of paper. In a friendly mood, he and Aden are the best of friends and can come up with outlandishly fun games to play together.
He does like to plan and work things out ahead of time, though, so if his schedule isn't supported by all parties or something doesn't work out the way he predicted, he can become quite hostile. We deal with some entitlement and a nasty superiority complex when it comes to Aden. These are some of the things we're trying to work on this summer.
He eats like a champ. Or how about this. He eats a very balanced variety of foods like a champ, and he eats with the frequency of a long-distance cyclist. About every other day he takes his empty dinner plate to the sink and returns to the table with a, "I'm sooooo hungry!" Sign of things to come, I'm afraid.
Trey likes school, swimming, running, spending money, devising somewhat questionable ways to earn money, talking trash, playing his numerous devices, staying up late, picking beans, spending time with his friends, and being with his grandparents.
Trey, you are such a sweet, interesting, fun kid, and we are ever so thankful God chose to bless our family with you. We look forward to seeing how you will grow this next year, and thank you for your patience with us as we learn how to parent a nine-year-old. Happy birthday! We love you!
He's a big kid now. Who knows when that really becomes official, but I feel the need to quickly declare it because time is going by so fast and the shudder-inducing label of tween is right around the corner.
But he is. Big. Tall and thin except for the belly. Quite handsome, though the type of handsome is changing. Don't take this the wrong way, Trey, but cute has expired a little bit. Maybe it's the glasses, and intelligent has now surpassed cute.
Dare I say things are a bit awkward. I remember clear as day on my ninth birthday, standing in my grandmother's kitchen, my aunt saying to me, "Nine is a weird age." And it was.
So far for Trey, eight has been pretty different. He's working on finding his place. Creating new balance between independence and
We've had conversations this past year that I was in no way prepared for. The hard-wrought shelter continues to crumble, and we try our best to explain to Trey why the world is as it is. That it's not his job to worry over things he can't change. That we will always love and protect him. That Jesus is chasing hard after his heart.
Trey is so very funny, and very much enjoys making people laugh. Lately he's been making up songs, narration-type to describe what is going on in his life at the moment. This is something his Daddy used to do long ago, when we first got married, before reality set in. Never stop singing, Trey.
He continues to love board games, card games, and science. Our in-residence weather man, since Christmas equipped with his own laptop, gives us occasional updates on where the world's daily small earthquakes occurred. And then whenever we have a big weather event, he goes continuous coverage mode.
Basketball, baseball, and golf are all the rage as well. Kid knows oh so much about scores and names and stats of the pros. He plays in the yard or driveway, doing his very best to improve on some already impressive skills without the help of teammates or an opponent. Still won't budge on joining a team, but progress has been made.
About a month ago, Trey willingly went to kids' basketball camp at Brandon's school. It took a lot of courage on his part, and he was practically floating on a cloud every night when he got home. The drills! The games! The shooting contests! He won second place in the final shooting contest, beating out kids headed for 8th grade this fall. That's my Trey. Who he is, and who he could be.
Then a couple weeks back, Trey got very upset that Aden learned to swim underwater, while he couldn't. Every time Trey would start putting the goggles on to try, he would choke up and say, "I just can't do it." So we broke it down into teeny, tiny, very doable steps. After a few hours, kid was going after diving sticks at the bottom of the pool and doing cannonballs without a life jacket. And happy as a clam.
Yes, the fears are real. Trey's poor brain allows him very little confidence, gets overwhelmed by big picture, seizes up at the thought of not being in control, and always, always imagines the very worst.
Slowly, as his parents, we are learning to deal with some of his fears. Like with the pool, breaking things down. Like with camp, trying to shift from the worst that could happen, to the best. For bedtime issues, now entering their seventh year, I try to give him some scenario to think of as he lays with eyes shut, so he won't sit there and invent potential disasters.
And above all, every day and often over and over every day, we try to stress to Trey that his confidence can come from God. That God is in perfect control. That the Bible has 365 do not fears just for him. That he is loved more than he could ever imagine, and that Jesus is with him every moment. Oh how we pray for this boy's salvation.
Trey can be very kind and helpful when he wants to. In a cooperative mood, he can play by himself without screens involved. This usually involves reading, writing a story, drawing a map, or building something out of paper. In a friendly mood, he and Aden are the best of friends and can come up with outlandishly fun games to play together.
He does like to plan and work things out ahead of time, though, so if his schedule isn't supported by all parties or something doesn't work out the way he predicted, he can become quite hostile. We deal with some entitlement and a nasty superiority complex when it comes to Aden. These are some of the things we're trying to work on this summer.
He eats like a champ. Or how about this. He eats a very balanced variety of foods like a champ, and he eats with the frequency of a long-distance cyclist. About every other day he takes his empty dinner plate to the sink and returns to the table with a, "I'm sooooo hungry!" Sign of things to come, I'm afraid.
Trey likes school, swimming, running, spending money, devising somewhat questionable ways to earn money, talking trash, playing his numerous devices, staying up late, picking beans, spending time with his friends, and being with his grandparents.
Trey, you are such a sweet, interesting, fun kid, and we are ever so thankful God chose to bless our family with you. We look forward to seeing how you will grow this next year, and thank you for your patience with us as we learn how to parent a nine-year-old. Happy birthday! We love you!
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