10

Oh sweet AJ boy. 10 years old. A decade. 

This guy is in such a hurry to be older, taller, stronger, bigger. I have to convince him constantly that he doesn’t need new shoes because his current shoes aren’t big enough. Or a new shirt because nothing fits. I get the look if I try to hand him a kids menu because he is soooooo past that.  I’m battling him with life jackets because kid life jackets are just not who he is anymore. 

AJ is the guy that can have the biggest heart and check in with his sis if she’s sad, or check on me if I haven’t gotten enough sleep, or worry about any of us who are maybe struggling. He also is insanely experienced at bugging his brother in the quietest way.  So much so, I might lose my sanity.

AJ continues to grow in learning how things work. He loves Fortnite and can spend hours talking about it. This is something I’m trying to lean into, because I know that if he can talk about the these “little things” and I don’t brush him off...then maybe he’ll talk about the big stuff. And in reality this is the big stuff for him. 

He recently has been driving the boat that my parents own. He was deemed by his cousins as their favorite driver, and you should have seen his chest swell with pride. 

For his birthday we created a nerf wall for him as a surprise, and he loves it.  Ever since Covid hit, he has been asking about his birthday. Luckily we were able to put together a couple special gatherings that were pretty friendly regarding distancing. It made me happy that he got to see his buddies.

Speaking of Covid, AJ was so solid. We created a Computer station for him, and he just did so well. As crazy as that time was, I was also able to watch his struggles and see his strengths academically.  He continues to be our strongest reader in our house. The guy reads all sorts of books that are past his age. Sometimes I even have to kick him off of his books!

AJ-thanks for being a cool dude. I truly am excited for our relationship as you get older, because I feel like you and I are connected. You let me in, and for that I’m forever thankful. I appreciate you understanding that I’m not perfect, and this parenting thing gets really hard. But you do give me grace and I’m learning from you.

Love you big man,

Momma

Boy time

Dempsey decided she wants to live up at Estes with the grandparents, so we’ve been enjoying boy time down here. Today we adventured in the St Vrain and we went delivering books to mini libraries. 

On one hand it’s nice to know Dempsey is securely attached to us, such that she can be away from us for awhile. Last night Russ and I half joked that we didn’t know when we should start taking personally! Hah!! 

Until she comes home I’m going to enjoy the absence of fighting between her and Ryker! 

Love,

Mom 

Pupppppy

Geesh having a puppy is bringing back all sorts of baby memories. Being attached to something 24/7, having such frustration and then in an instant feeling so in love, the thoughts can we put this thing back where it can from, the intense joy when he does something new, the joy of dropping him off at daycare, the joy of picking him up again, cuddling and how perfect yet rare it is, and the list goes on. 

Yesterday we were going to go on my parents boat.

 Technical difficulties made this impossible which bummer everyone out. I mean everyone!!! So consolation prize- taking Kevin to Union Res and our boats. So we packed up the SUP, inflatable raft, snacks, sunscreen, water, treats to convince Kevin to get on the SUP, and we headed. 

After blowing everything up, which is not easy, we got int he water. Kevin got in the SUP right away-success. But then within minutes a storm that we were not predicting nor did we see on the weather map, came rolling in. Talk about having fun....3 kids, a puppy, 2 inflatable-could be taken by the wind-rafts, and a crap ton of wind. Super cool. Luckily we stayed by shore so we paddled in. Dempsey was super nervous, AJ was calm and cool, and Ryker wasn’t really listening. Pretty par for the course. Once the inflatables were near shore the kids were able to swim for a few minutes with Kevin. Most he’s swam yet. It was awesome:) And I was exhausted. 

More wind, bad look clouds, and we picked up quickly. So basically we spent 5x longer prepping for the whole thing, then actually in the water. I was ready for a drink. But we are making memories.

Love,

Momma

Hangout Time

Summer is weird. But we managed to get to a beach today. Fave moments: 

1. AJ started swimming to the other side. The kid is a solid swimmer and it makes me wonder if he should be on a swim team.

2. This boat came by and had huge waves. Most people flew to shore to grab babies/toys/rafts/etc. Dempsey didn’t. She started straight out into the water to play and jump the waves. I mean she was a bullet. It was the coolest thing ever.

It was a good day!

Mom