10 years old!

June 16, 2016

This child brings so much joy to our family.  He is such a happy, helpful, energetic contribution to our family.  We celebrated with him today by going all out!  Like all birthdays in our family, the birthday child (or adult..) picks all meals.  He has the least extravagent taste of the three kids so we easily obliged when he asked for Popeye's for lunch and pizza for dinner.  We actually didn't even really plan a birthday party until less than a week before his special day.  He is not like Ash and I who start planning at least 6 months before the blessed day.  He mentioned a few things that he would like, then asked if he could have a few kids come over to play soccer.  We ended up having about a dozen kids come to the park and played a few different soccer-related games before having cake, ice cream and pizza.  Carson is not in short supply of friends and was super excited that most of the kids he invited were able to come (as last minute as it was!)

Some of Carson's current faves are:
Sharks
The color pink
SOCCER!
Pizza
Ice Cream
Popsicles
Video Games (xbox and iphone)
Hugs
NOT cleaning
Math
Making people laugh

His favorite gift was a tie between his quick-set soccer goal and his "Scentsy"shark.

My thoughts about Carson right now: Carson is an incredibly sensitive child. He is very in tune to how people are feeling and  reacts accordingly.  If someone (like, mom) is really stressed and exhibiting corresponding emotions, he will do what he can (if there is an obvious solution) to help reduce the stress.  Likewise, if there is a lot of energy, he will feel that and absorb it, and mirror the crazy happening around him.  He has loved Mrs. Shipley, his 4th grade teacher, especially learning the recorder (his rendition of My Country Tis of Thee will bring tears to your eyes) and being a super-star in math.  Carson is terrible at cleaning up after himself.  His room is in a constant state of disarray, his bed is always unmade, his dresser is always bursting, and he can not put a paper in his backpack and keep it straight to save his life.  Carson loves spending time with friends, especially on the tramp, playing soccer in the yard, or playing video games.  He still knows he needs a good sleep at night and will often be the one to initiate bed time, or even just hit the sack.  He loves a big long hug from his parents, and is never the first one to let go.  He has the voice of an angel and we hope he will continue to enjoy singing as he gets older.  We are constantly blessed by the presence of this sweet little man and are so glad to have him as our caboose.