Zeke is 8!!

Happy Birthday my wonderful Ezekiel! You are 8 years old today. Let's start off with a birthday interview to remember a slice of who you are at this time in life :)

Birthday Interview: 1/27/2020
What is your favorite food? Jello and pears
Favorite Song? Smoke on the Water remix
Movie? Charlie and The Chocolate Factory  
Subject to learn in school? Science
Thing to do every day? Play with toys
Instrument? The electric guitar
What do you want to be when you grow up? A hydraulic engineer
What is your favorite thing about Daddy? That we have special time together.
Mommy? Having time together.
Levi? That he's my brother.
Zoë? That she's my sister.
Naomi? That she is fun.
What are you most excited about being 8? That I'm the oldest in the family.

- This year we celebrated your birthday on Saturday, January 25. You invited your Kid City leaders, Mr. Eric and Ms. Amy, Zelda and her family, Mr. TJ and Mrs. Tiffany and their kids, Pop-Pop, Mimi, Aunt Teresa and her family and us. I made you this huge confetti cake and it was a big hit! We had hot dogs, pasta, green beans, bbq chips, fruit salad, blue jello, orange fanta, cake and ice cream. On Sunday, Daddy and I took you to Red Robin for lunch after church and then we went to see Frozen II. In the morning, we're making you blueberry donuts and taking you to LegoLand as your birthday present! I think you're going to have a wonderful time! 

- Look at this adorable group of kids! I love that you all love playing outside in the snow. We've had a couple good snows so far this winter. You enjoy sledding, making snowmen, trying to make snow houses, and, really, trying to make all sorts of contraptions to use in the snow. 

- You received some great gifts this year; some of them, you have been waiting on for quite some time! You love your new Gratvitrax set, your snap circuits, and your glow in the dark track. You continue to love building with your Q-Ba-Maze set and even received a motor to build from scratch! Recently, you disassembled our old vacuum because you wanted to figure out how it works. We are working through a chemistry set for school this term and you can't wait to make the rocket. 

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- You earned your high yellow belt in Taekwondo just before Christmas. Next up is the leadership class if you choose to keep advancing at Kick! You have a couple of months to decide. You have made so much progress in your strength, self-control, and listening since you began taking Taekwondo 2 years ago! 

- You seem to enjoy helping in the kitchen! You like trying new recipes with me and recently asked if you could do some experimenting! In January, we have made a giant cinnamon roll, egg salad, and chocolate cookies. I'm hoping that by the time you leave the house you'll have a whole arsenal of recipes/meals that you are great at making! 

- You seem to have a great mind for puzzles/puzzle type games. It seems like you inherently know how to put things together. We received a new game, Qwirkle, for Christmas which you are quite good at already. And just today, I let you play a game of BlokuDoku on my phone. I let you complete one of the daily challenges I had been struggling with (I tried probably 8 or 9 times to complete it) and you finished it on your first try. I believe that means you have some pretty awesome spatial skills! Additionally, in math, you are able to add together 3-digit numbers side by side. I check your work by stacking the numbers and adding them. But somehow, you are able to visualize these numbers and answers in your mind. It's quite amazing to me! You also have an excellent sense of rhythm and have make huge strides in your piano playing this past year. You like to sit down and practice and play for fun which I love very much! You have been working on your 5-finger scales and asking how to put the different keys together to make the major and minor sounds. Your favorite song to play right now is 'Forest Drums' and Daddy and I cannot wait until you choose a new favorite! Other subjects/areas we are studying in school currently include The Middle Ages in History, memorizing 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, learning all the verses to the hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus", focusing on the habit of Kindness, continuing to increase your reading skills (you received an Audible subscription for Christmas so you can listen to stories and I think you're really enjoying this; as you seem to enjoy when I read aloud each afternoon as well and always ask for me to read a little bit longer!). I've noticed you cluing in and picking up more on words as we're out and about. On Sunday morning at church, you walked by one of the door greeters and as we walked past you said, "Hi Russell!" because you had read his name tag. These little bursts and moments make me so proud at the progress you've made in the past year. Reading doesn't come naturally to you like math and science, but I'm proud of you for being diligent and not giving up even though it is hard. We are still working on learning Spanish, we read poetry a few days a week, and we're working on increasing our narration skills. We have been participating in the Northland Wild+Free group and it has been fun to be in a slightly smaller group so you're able to get more familiar with the other kids. I'm hoping we can go consistently and make some friendships with kids who have similar interests. 

- Your current desire is to grow your hair down to your shoulders. I'm not super excited about this venture, but I've also decided to give you some autonomy and let you decide. So we'll see what happens in the months to come. 

Misty of Chincoteague W+F book club down at a horse stable in KC 

Parkville Days shooting range prize 

Exploring out at the Parkville Nature Sanctuary 

The start of your 2nd grade school year! 

One of your handicrafts has been hand sewing

Ezekiel, I am so proud to be your Mom. You are thoughtful and care about others' feelings even more than your own (mostly!). When one of your siblings' gets hurt, you'll stop what you're doing to make sure they are ok or help them up. You are sensitive and often have your feelings hurt as well; I hope to help you embrace this side of you instead of trying to make it go away and make you "tough". I definitely want to foster a sense of resilience and diligence in your spirit, but being sensitive to your emotions is never wrong and I hope you'll always believe that. You like to ask questions about the way things work and figure out ways to solve problems creatively. You still love Arthur Geisert books and received your favorite one, "Hogwash" for your birthday this year! We wrote him a letter last year, but the letter was returned, so maybe we can try to send an email next. You are quiet, always observing the world around you. You are slow to get angry and can put up with a lot (thanks to being the oldest of four!). You are becoming a better helper to me, cleaning the bathroom sinks every day, helping with the dishes after meals, feeding the dog, putting things away when asked. I appreciate you and the calm way you go about your business. You help me remember to be calm! I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for you in the coming year! I pray we will continue to grow our relationship together, that you will grow in confidence in the skills you possess, that you will learn to be diligent when things get difficult, that you will continue to ask questions about God, and that you will feel loved, protected, and cared for in our family! Love, Mommy