Happy 7th Birthday Ryan!

Dear Ryan,

You are seven years old today.  That seems like such an "old" age, but you are still my little boy.  You are growing up way too fast, though.

Your mind is always spinning with ideas and questions.  I love to hear the questions you ask and try to figure out what made you ask them.  They are so completely random at times.  Just the other day you said, "Remember when Jillian was little and put a noodle up her nose and sneezed it out?".  And then you just laughed and laughed remembering the incident that happened at the cabin 3 years ago.  I'm so thankful for your amazing memory that helps me remember those funny moments, too.

You are an awesome first grader!  You strive to make it to the top of the behavior chart every day.  Your goal is to get that purple clip up daily.  I love that that motivates you, and that I know you're being respectful to your teacher.  Your favorite part of your school day is recess, of course.  You love to play soccer with your second grade baseball friends.  Your favorite subject - other than recess and PE - is math.  You've always been a numbers guy, so this is not surprising.  You've become a really good reader, and read to us every night.  It's not your favorite thing to do, but you do it so you get your minutes in to become an Eager Reader.  You are so goal oriented, which is pretty awesome to watch.

I don't get much information from you about your days at school, which is a little irritating but some days you have something to say like, "one day we were working with money and we had to think of words with "cent" in them, and I thought of "Century Link Field".  Stuff like this cracks me up!  And I'm so thankful to get even a little bit of information on how you spent your day.

You have lost 3 teeth so far, and have 3 more wiggly ones up top.  I'm hoping your first front tooth comes out today!  One of them is just hanging there which gives you the silliest Jack O Lantern smile.

Money has become a big motivator for you.  You love to count your money!  Here is the numbers guy in you coming out again.  You love helping us and the neighbors with yard work so you can earn money.  They can not wait for you to get old enough to mow lawns.  We don't pay you, but they do!  You've also been into "making" money.  You sit down with a dollar bill, trace it, then draw in the details.

You have such a creative mind.  I love to see where it takes us during the day.  You're so good at getting your sisters on board with your creative ideas.  The three of you are always going on adventures, setting up stores or a school, or making a boats out of boxes.  It's such a joy to watch.

You've really gotten into building with Legos, or anything you have to follow a set of directions to build.  These are good activities for you when you need to calm your body down a little.

Because you are still our little energizer bunny.  You go non-stop all day.  You love our new house and love to be outside playing ball in the yard.  If you're not playing with some sort of ball, you're riding your bike through the cul de sac.  If it's raining outside, you are inside playing with a ball or balloon.  You have SO. Much. Energy.  Your most favorite thing is to have someone to do all that with.  You love play dates most, but you and Kendall have a great time doing all those things together too. 

You are still really apprehensive to try new things.  You break into tears if we make you try anything new at dinner.  It really is ridiculous, but we are seeing you make small strides.  You are a good eater in general, though.  Your foods of choice are salmon, your Daddy's chicken and pizza.  Probably in that order.

One of the surest signs that you're growing up is that your beloved Honu isn't as beloved anymore.  I know he'll always hold a special place in your heart, but he's just not needed for snuggles anymore.  This makes me sad.  I knew it would happen one day, but didn't know it would happen so soon.

At your 7-year check up you weighed 55 pounds and were 48 1/4 inches tall - officially 4 feet!  

Happy 7th Birthday to my energetic, creative, smart and stubborn boy!

You are one special kid, Ryan Boehm.  I love watching you grow everyday.

Love you,
Mommy