Oliver: 13 Years Old

 

Dear Oliver,

You are officially a teenager today! It seems like just yesterday you were a sassy little toddler, always following me around saying the funniest things. Now that you're a sassy teenager, you're still following me around saying the funniest things. You have such a fun personality and kind heart. You're a great big brother to Isaac and Moses and will still play with them when they want you to. You occasionally join on their games of Mad Cat and recently you've even been teaching Moses to fly a drone. You let him use yours, give him pointers, and show him grace when he crashes it. I know they look up to you so much and want to be just like you when they're older!

You're still completely obsessed with airplanes and talks about them nonstop. Your favorite pastimes are reading about airplanes, watching YouTube videos about airplanes, shopping online for your next RC airplane, flying one of your many RC airplanes, and repairing them after crashes. You have your future all mapped out; Air Force Academy for college, fly airplanes for the Air Force until you're 40, and then be a private pilot- not a commercial pilot. You say that you never wants to fly commercial planes because you don't want to be a "bus driver of the sky." 🤣 

You ran track with Centerville Junior High for the first time this year and had a good experience trying out the 110 m hurdles, the 100 m relay, and the 200 m relay. You're also playing baseball right now and are having fun. I'm glad that you're trying lots of sports and are staying active. You start work at the local farm again in a few days and are excited that you'll have a phone and earbuds this season and can listen to music while you pick the crops. It's hard work but hopefully the music will make the time pass a little more quickly!

Kids love you and want to hang out with you all the time, but it's sometimes hard to convince you to go out because you love doing your own thing at home. You're an introvert at heart, just like dad. You always have a project going on and want to spend most of your time at home working on that. You don't hang out with friends outside of school very often, which I'm working on. I keep telling you that you need to be a friend if you want friends!

You love to eat out more than anything. You're constantly begging me to take you out to one of your favorite places- Jersey Mikes, Cafe Rio, Chick-fil-A, or In-N-Out. You've somehow gotten me in the bad habit of taking you out every time you get your braces tightened, whether you're missing school for the appointment or not. You've had your Herbst appliance for almost a year and I feel so bad for you. It looks miserable! It's correcting your severe overbite by slowly pulling your lower jaw forward. It will all be worth it someday but in the meantime, it sure doesn't look very fun.

You're doing great in school and have adjusted to junior high really well. You seem to like your classes and make it all look easy. You're one of those annoying kids who doesn't even have to work that hard in school yet you get perfect grades. Lucky! There may come a day where you actually have to work for those good grades a little.

O{liver, I love you so much! You're really special. I can't wait to see what you do with your life because I know it's going to be great!

Love to the moon and back,

Mom

13 Year Stats:

Height: 5 ft 6 in

Weight: 117 lbs

Isaac: 10 Years Old

Dear Isaac,

You're double digits today! You're seriously the cutest kid ever. Whenever I think about you, I smile. You're so silly and happy. You love to laugh and you play hard. Everyone who knows you loves you. You have lots of friends and kids seem to flock to you. You talk NONSTOP and are exhausting in the best possible way. At the end of the day, I have to admit that I'm relieved to have a little break from you, not because you're a hard or bad kid, but because you're so intense. You are so loud! You talk loud, laugh loud, and never stop moving. You requires a lot of my attention and are constantly saying, "Mom, watch this!" You do whatever you wanted to show me, but almost always follow it up with "That wasn't it." Then I have to stand there and watch while you try over and over to get it perfect. It's so adorable and frustrating. Lately, you've been following me around the house telling me about your dreams in great detail. And I mean GREAT detail. Sometimes it'll take 20 minutes for you to get through all of it. 

You starred in your school's production of The Lion King last fall and were so adorable playing the role of Young Simba. I was seriously impressed with how quickly you learned your lines (and he had a lot of them!) without much help from me or dad. It was a lot of pressure for you to get up there on stage but you took it all in stride. You acted like it was no big deal. I was very proud of you!

Your favorite foods are popcorn, nachos, and ramen. Not a day goes by without you eating one of these, if not all three. You made me pack you the exact same lunch for the entire school year (cheddar cheese, crackers, chips, and a dessert). Just thinking about eating the same thing over and over like that makes me want to cry, but you wouldn't take anything else. You wouldn't buy school lunch either. So boring!

You're still super into art and I'm constantly in awe of your talent. You paint on canvases, fill your sketchbooks with drawings and cartoons, and mold little figures out of clay. I love that you spend so much time creating. It's so good for your brain!

After taking a break from piano for a year, you started asking to take lessons again. You've done a lot better this time than the first time around and are improving every week. You played in a recital a few months ago and did great. I'm hoping you'll stick with it longer this time. 

You and Moses play so well together and it makes me so happy. Moses recently told me that you're his best friend in the whole world. When I told you he'd said that, you said, "Well he's mine too!"

You're such a fun guy and I love being around you. You're my most snuggly kid which I love so much. You love to crawl onto my lap and have me tickle your back. You give the best hugs too. You're so sweet. I love you so much!

Love always,

Mom

10 Year Stats

Weight: 83 lbs (80th percentile)

Height: 56.6 in (80th percentile)

Eli: 14 Years Old

Dear Eli,

You are 14 years old! You're such an awesome guy. You're a super chill kid and don't get stressed out about much. When I took you to the pediatrician for his 14 year well check, you had to fill out a questionnaire about depression and anxiety. You answered all the questions and when you were done, I glanced over and saw that you had circled 0's on the entire form, meaning you have no anxiety at all. Lol. I'm sure that will change as you get older and life gets more stressful but I'm happy that you're so content right now!  

You went out of your comfort zone and joined the track team at school this past spring. You tried lots of ball sports when you were younger (basketball, soccer, baseball, etc), but none of them really clicked. You've loved skiing and are good at it, but we wanted you to try something else physical. Track was the first time you'd ever really had to push yourself physically and it was so good for you to feel the pain of doing hard things that you never thought possible. I'd pick you up from practice and you'd tell me that it was so hard, you'd wanted to throw up, but you pushed through it. I was so proud of you! Your events were hurdles and discus. 

This summer, you've also been on the mountain biking team. Dad signed up to be one of the coaches, which has actually turned out to be a way bigger time commitment and more expensive than we thought. He's had to attend lots of meetings and classes, log his hours riding, and even attend a 4 hour CPR/first aid seminar. You and dad are both really enjoying it though and wake up at 5:30 am for practice rides. You like to get them out of the way in the morning before it gets too hot. 

One nice thing about you is that you've gotten more helpful around the house. When I ask you to do chores, you typically do them without too much complaint and I rarely have to ask you more than once or twice to get started. Let me tell you though, you are slower than molasses! Everything you do is done at a snail's pace. I can get done triple what you do in the same amount of time. You've always been like this and probably always will be, but that's okay because it's just who you are!

You have a good group of friends which I'm so grateful for. You hang out with them almost daily and even when you don't get together in person, you play computer games with each other. Like every other teenage boy, you love playing video games and playing Gorilla Tag on your Oculus. That's all you and your friends want to do! I try to be fair and give you plenty of time, but I try to encourage you to do other things together too! 

You're dependable, mature, and responsible. You always gets out the door on time, you do well in school, and are always kind to people.  It's crazy to me how you've gone from looking like a little boy to an older teenager this year!  You're starting to look like a man! You finally admitted to me a few months ago who you have a crush on, and I have to say, you have great taste! Ha ha. 

You've been on Accutane for 9 months now and it's really helping your skin. You probably need another 3-4 months on it before you're totally clear. You've had super dry lips and skin, some bloody noses, and worsening vision, but you haven't seemed to mind any of the side effects too much. I'm grateful that you'll spend the majority of your teenage years without having to worry about acne. 

You've had braces for about 4 months now and are doing well with wearing your rubber bands and brushing really well around them. I couldn't be prouder of my first-born son and can't wait to watch you learn and grow even more. 

I feel panicky about the fact that we only have 4 more years with you before you leave for a mission or college, and I'm going to miss you so much! Hopefully I'm teaching you enough for you to go out in the world and be a good human! I love you so much, Eli. Thanks for being so awesome! 

Love,

Mom

14 Year Stats

Weight: 123 lbs (70th percentile)

Height: 67 in (75th percentile)

Moses: 7 Years Old

 

Dear Moses,

You are 7 years old today! I can't believe how fast time is flying with you. I wish so much I could freeze time. I cried myself to sleep last night thinking about how little time I have left with you and how much I'm going to miss you when you're all grown up and not living with us anymore. I know that probably sounds crazy because we still have 10 years with you, but I already think about it all the time.

You play so hard and are so busy! You're constantly running around with your brothers and love having friends over to play. It's actually pretty hard to get any one-on-one time with you. At the end of the day, your dad and I frequently talk about how we didn't get much quality time with you.We have to be very deliberate about making it happen or it doesn't happen. One thing you absolutely love lately is going on bike rides. You beg me & dad to go with you. You never need to go far or stay out too long, but just riding around the neighborhood for a few minutes with you makes you so happy. It's adorable. 

You are crazy about screens! Video games, YouTube, and shows on Netflix are all your jam. Your absolute favorite right now though is building worlds in Minecraft. You frequently play with Isaac so I don't mind it too much because at least you're socializing and bonding with each other. You wake up first thing in the morning asking if you can do screens and it doesn't stop until bedtime. I really try to not allow any screens on school days and only 2 hrs/day on weekends, but I occasionally give in to your begging and let you do a little more. It's terrible, I know. 

You are by far my laziest child. You won't clean a damn thing! You treat the entire house as your garbage can, just dropping wrappers wherever you go. When I assign the simplest tasks to you, you act like I'm asking you to scrub the whole house clean from top to bottom. You also hate to read and despite being a little behind where you should be by the end of 1st grade, you do everything you can to get out of it. You loved going to school this past school year though and absolutely loved your teacher, Mrs. Palmer. You thought she was a celebrity! She's in our ward so we see her outside of school frequently. Every time you spot her, your face lights up and you exclaim, "Mom! There's Mrs. Palmer!" as if you'd just spotted the queen. It's so cute. 

Your favorite foods are ramen noodles, popcorn, plain white bread straight from the bag, watermelon, and strawberries. I have a pretty hard time getting you to eat any protein. You're a stinker about eating what I made at dinnertime. You sneak candy and junk food whenever you get a chance. Sometimes I'll come downstairs to check on you after playing with your friends in the basement and I'll discover that you've pounded an entire bag of Cheetos or marshmallows. You also love soda and beg me all the time for them. Giving kids soda is one of my least favorite things because no matter how many times you promise me you'll finish it, I'll find a warm, 3/4 full can somewhere. It drives me crazy!!!

You're really independent and are not snuggly at all. I wish you'd just lay on the couch and snuggle with me once in awhile but you have places to go and things to do! You get anxious about being late and are always the one yelling at everyone to hurry up when we're trying to get out the door. You also have anxiety about the car running out of gas. You're constantly monitoring the gas gauge from the backseat and are telling me we need to go to the gas station, even if we have half a tank left.  

You hate praying and going to church. Whenever we tell you it's your time to say the prayer at mealtime or bedtime, you fight us and if we make you, you pretend you don't know how to pray, as if you've never heard one before. Every week during church, you ask us how much longer until it's over. Hopefully this is just a phase and that you end up liking the gospel! 

You're still really into playing "Mad Cat" with Isaac and will spend the whole day talking to each other in these weird little baby voices mixed with meowing. It's hilarious and irritating at the same time. You love to jump on the tramp and run through the sprinklers. Your dad reads to you and Isaac every night and I love snuggling with you while we listen because it's one of the only times you'll hold still and be near me! 

I'm excited to spend more time with you this summer. We're going to Lake Powell, St. George, Island Park, and Bear Lake, so we're going to have a lot of fun days ahead! I'm excited to have you home from school with me and be able to spend more quality time with you. You're the sweetest little guy with the most energy and the cutest laugh. I love being your mom so much! I don't know how I got so lucky!

Love forever and ever,

Mom

7 Year Stats:

Weight: 52 lbs (50th percentile)

Height: 48.5 in (60th percentile)

Oliver: 12 Years Old

Dear Oliver, 

You're 12 years old today! You are such an amazing kid. Anyone who knows you can tell you how impressive you are. You do well in school, have lots of friends, and aren't afraid to talk to people and make your opinions known. You're funny, kind, and witty. The things you say kill me. For example, as I was wrapping your birthday presents last night, I told you I was worried that I didn't have enough for you and that you were going to be disappointed with your gifts. You came over to me, wrapped your arms around me, and said, "Mom, just so you know..... it will never be enough." Ha ha! You're such a little stinker! I was expecting you to tell me that you'd be happy no matter what. 

Your obsession with aviation is going strong. You spent last summer building an airplane from scratch with a foam poster board, servos, and a remote control. Every time you'd take it out for a test flight, you'd make tweaks to it to make it fly even higher and for longer. I can't even tell you how many hours you have spent on it through the past year. The plane is incredible! Pop pop gave you his airplane manuals from when he was studying for his pilot's license and you have spent lots of time pouring over the technical books. I won't be surprised if you end up doing something with airplanes for your career, but who knows. When I asked you recently what you want to be when you grow up, you said, "I don't know, mom! Wherever the wind takes me!" 

You are such a caring brother. When Isaac got hurt recently and needed stitches, you were very concerned for him and kept trying to comfort him. You don't like to help around the house much but if you can tell that dad and I are getting stressed, you'll always step in to help. You've started babysitting for us this past year since Eli is frequently out with friends on weekends. You play with the younger boys, read them bedtime stories, and most of the time, you even clean the kitchen for extra money. 

Your teacher Mrs. Holmes called us recently to tell us how special you are. She said she's been teaching for decades and that you are one of the most impressive kids she's ever taught. She said that you will say things in class that she has never even thought of before and that you're always trying to see both sides of things. She said she's dying to know what you end up doing with your life because she knows you're going to go far. That was sure a fun phone call to get! You've served on student council this school year and have had a great experience with it. 

Your teeth have been falling out like crazy! You recently lost 3 teeth in 3 days. You have your front few teeth but huge gaps on the sides with no teeth. It's pretty cute. You have an orthodontist consultation soon to see if you're ready for braces. You have a bit of an overbite that needs to be corrected. I want to get you started ASAP so that you can get it over with! 

Overall, you are a pretty content kid. You entertain yourself and like to spend a lot of time in your room reading. Everyone loves you but you don't hang out with friends too often. You'd rather do your own thing! I have a feeling that will change once you go to junior high in the fall and all of the kids start getting together more frequently. Right now, I'm happy just having you home with me. I wish I could keep you little forever! Even though I know you're going to do great, I don't want to send you to junior high! 

You are a talker! You follow me around the house telling me about airplanes, the books you're reading, video games, etc. You always have something to say and I love it! Life with you is magical and I'm soaking up every minute I get with you because you're so precious to me!

Love always,

Mom

12 Year Stas

Weight: 100 lbs (70th percentile)

Height: 62.2 in (90th percentile)

Isaac: 9 Years Old

Dear Isaac,

Isaac is 9! He is such a fun guy. He loves to laugh and loves making his family laugh too. He and Moses have been playing a game called "Mad Cat" for months now where they're both cats (Mad Cat and Mad Cat 2.0). I don't completely understand it but they think it is hilarious and the best game they've ever played. They roll around on the floor wrestling and hysterically laughing. It's adorable! They love it so much that For Isaac's birthday, I even made them Mad Cat t-shirts with a drawing Isaac did of Mad Cat. The boys loved them but no joke, they ruined the shirts with the juice from cherries within one hour. I have scrubbed and scrubbed but the stains won't come out. Typical, right?! 

We found out a few months ago that Isaac is allergic to basically everything. We took him in for some testing because he was getting itchy, unexplained rashes daily. He reacted to all but three of the allergens on the skin prick test and the blood test came back showing that he's also allergic to gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, and soy. I was horrified! But after lots of trial and error and consulting with his doctor, we learned that we can keep it all under control if he takes an allergy pill every day. If I forget to give it to him though, he's miserable. 

Isaac has lots of friends and gets invited to hang out with them a lot, but the problem is that he's kind of a homebody. He frequently just wants to stay home and do his own thing. It's not that he doesn't like his friends or want to see them, but he definitely doesn't want to hang out too often or for too long. He's sweet though and never wants to hurt people's feelings, so he's always asking me to come up with excuses for him about why he can't play. 🤣

He's used to hanging out with lots of girls because there are no other boys his age in our neighborhood. He's very particular about his routine and the way things are done. He's not happy if we deviate at all. He's really into holiday traditions and always makes sure we check all of them off the list. 

Isaac does this schtick where he pretends to not know what we're talking about. For example, if we make a comment about something that's right in front of us, he'll be like, "Where is it? I don't see it!" It drives us all crazy! His favorite foods are microwave popcorn, nachos, scrambled eggs on wheat toast, and plain pasta with half & half, butter, salt, and parmesan cheese. For the past year, he's refused to wear anything but athletic shorts and graphic tees. The boy looks sloppy all the time but it's not a battle I want to fight. I let him wear what he wants! 

He's a good little artist and loves to paint and draw. I'm trying to encourage this quality by buying him lots of art supplies and putting him in a painting class. He's been working on learning how to do a backflip on the trampoline and has spent lots of time perfecting it the last few weeks. I can't believe he's going into 4th grade in just a few short weeks. My time with him is going by way too fast!! He loves to snuggle and is a major mama's boy. I spend lots of time tickling his back every night and chatting with him before he falls asleep. It's my favorite part of the day. If you know Isaac, you know what I mean when I say that he's the best!!!

Love always,

Mom

9 Year Stats

Weight: 75 lbs (80th percentile)

Height: 54 in (75th percentile)

Eli: 13 Years Old

Dear Eli,

 

You are 13 years old! I seriously can't believe I have a teenager!!! I'm not old enough for that, right?! (please say no 😉) You are such a great kid. You're responsible, confident, punctual, tidy, loyal, a great student, and chill (except for when we're trying to get out the door and we're running late- then you're not chill at all 🤣). 

One of my very favorite things about you is that you never talk bad about people. Dad and I were talking last night and neither one of us could think of a single time when he's said an unkind thing about anyone. It's such a great quality to have and you're such a wonderful example to me. Even though you won't sing a single note, you're very musical. You really enjoyed playing the trombone in band last school year and are going to continue next year. You also takes piano lessons and constantly blow me away with what you're able to learn. You'll print sheet music to songs you like, sit down at the piano, and have the whole thing learned in just a day or two. It's amazing! 

You love to ski and improved a lot this past season. I honestly couldn't keep up with you on the slopes! Your voice is getting lower and you're only 2 1/2 inches shorter than me. I'm sure you're going to pass me in the next few months. 

You have a good group of friends and love to get together with them to play video games and the oculus, ride bikes, go on adventures, and eat lots of junk food. You're the deacon's quorum president in our ward and love serving in that capacity. You never complains about all of the meetings you have to go to. You always come out of your room dressed in your white shirt and tie without me having to say one word, ready to go 5 minutes early. 

You love to stay up late, laugh with your friends, play board games as a family, and watch movies with dad. You're one of those people who is good to your bones and always want to do the right thing. You're the kind of first child that every parent dreams of having and are a great example to your younger brothers. I'm really proud of who you're becoming. You're a light in my life and I love being your mom! 

Lots of love,

Mom

13 Year Old Stats

Height: 64.6 inches (80th percentile)

Weight: 107 lbs (60th percentile)

Moses: 6 Years Old

 

Dear Moses, 

You are 6 years old today! You are the most adorable little guy and such a light in my life. The school year wraps up this week and I'm really sad thinking about the fact that our one-on-one time together is ending since your brothers will be home 24/7 this summer and then you start full-time school in the fall. I've loved having you by my side the past 6 years while I've done all the day-to-day things like grocery shopping, cleaning the house, making food, and getting ready for the day. You talk my ear off and ask lots of questions as you follow me around the house. A few days ago, I went to Costco by myself while you were at school and I started crying in the middle of the aisle. I felt so lonely as I pushed the shopping cart around. It was so quiet. You weren't there to make me laugh or beg for things. I hated it so much. I think not having you around all the time is going to be a big adjustment for me and I'm not looking forward to it!

You live like a king in this house. You lounge around in your bathrobe, demand snack plates while you watch TV in my bed, and pretty much get whatever you want. It's true what they say about the youngest being the most spoiled. You can get away with almost anything! I can't get you to clean anything for the life of me. Even teeny tiny little tasks that I ask you to do, like picking up your wrapper off the floor or putting your dirty plate in the sink, seem impossible for you. You always say, "I can't. I'm so tired!" It's funny how you're never tired until it's time to do something to help!

Your favorite food these days is popcorn. You drag a stool across the kitchen to the microwave and pop yourself a bag of popcorn whenever the craving strikes, which is sometimes even twice a day. You absolutely love watermelon and have been begging me to buy them for you all winter. I keep telling you that they're not good until summer, which luckily for you is coming up soon! You're my best at eating fruits and veggies. A few weeks ago, you came home from the Schultzs chomping on a big head of raw broccoli, which I had no idea you like. You're fairly willing to try new foods and eat what everyone else it eating.

You are totally and completely obsessed with screens. I've never had a kid beg for screens more than you do. You're probably most into the switch, followed by YouTube, followed by TV shows. I always feel so guilty about the fact that you are watching and playing way more than your older brothers did at your age but it's so hard to keep you away when you have 3 older brothers who are interested in all of that. I try my hardest to not allow any screens on school days and keep it to a maximum of 2 hours a day on the weekends, but occasionally you get more. I hope I'm not ruining you for life!

You love taking baths and still sometimes take them with Isaac. Are you too old for that? I don't know, but it's totally innocent and you love playing together. You make up all kinds of games, sometimes even involving goggles, and you splash water all over my bathroom, but it's worth it for the giggles. You and Isaac play so well together. He's nice and always lets you join in when he has a friend over.

You beg your dad to tickle you constantly. As soon as he walks in the door you yell, "Tickle me!" You roll around on the floor in hysterics. It's the cutest thing ever. You frequently ask me how many hours till dad comes home because you want him to tickle you. Isaac likes to be tickled too so you make a great team.

You and Isaac have made up a game called "Mad Cat" which you play together every single day. I don't fully understand it, but one of you is a grumpy cat and the other is its owner. Sometimes you're Mad Cat, sometimes Isaac is, and sometimes you also include characters called "Mat Cat 2.0" and "Bad Robot" in your game. It's so funny. I love your imaginations and watching you play!

You love to play with friends and run around outside. I'm so glad the weather is finally nice because we had a long, hard winter where it basically didn't stop snowing for 5 months straight. I love watching you play in the sandbox, jump on the tramp, drive your RC car, follow dad with your own lawn mower when he mows the lawn, or play imaginary games outside. It's so good for you! Your face turns bright red whenever you exert yourself and it's adorable.

It's hard to get you to sit still for long enough to read books with me, but when I manage, you love them. You giggle at the silly parts and snuggle up to me with your little legs stretched out next to mine. It's one of my favorite things ever. Your kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lang, told us that your reading and writing needs a little work. I'm going to try my hardest to be diligent with my time and work with you a lot this summer.

You are the cutest little thing and I love being your mom!

Love forever and always,

Mom

6 Year Stats:

Height: 46.5 inches (75th percentile)

Weight: 46.4 lbs (50th percentile)