Charlie #8

Charlie is 8!! It's wild to me that he can be that old....but lots of days, he actually acts a bit older than that. He's a genuinely happy kid who loves to laugh and be funny and have a great time and wants to be sure everyone else is doing the same! He cares for others and can "read the room" better than some teens can. He loves sports and will practice whatever sport he is currently playing until he's reached complete exhaustion-he is one committed 8 year old! We couldn't be more proud of the young man he's becoming! 

    Here's a little bit about Charlie:

• Charlie has no problem "hanging" with the big kids and even sticking up for himself when he needs to. He may get a bit emotional and have to explain things through some tears, but he does it!
• When Charlie gets home at the end of the school day, he immediately starts telling me every single detail.....from who didn't follow directions, to what Mrs. Rider said to the kids when they didn't follow directions, to how great lunch was, etc. etc.! He vomits it alllll out.....and I absolutely love it! 
• He loves to be silly and tell "jokes" and he is actually really funny. He asks all the time: "Mom, am I funny?" 
• He still loves to tell all of us that he loves us and he loves to give hugs. He loves for us to snuggle with him on the couch and lay with him in bed till he falls asleep. He will always hold my hand when we are walking together and loves any kind of one-on-one time he can get. His love language is definitely physical touch and quality time right now. 
• Charlie is loud....when he laughs he is loud, when he cries he is loud, when he talks he is loud....you will never have a problem hearing what he has to say. He may have a problem with interrupting us while we are talking with someone else, but he's working on being patient and waiting. 
• Food makes Charlie really happy though he is still pretty picky. He loves McDonald's chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the most. He also enjoys a spoonful of peanut butter while I'm making sandwiches. He really is pretty consistent on what he likes to eat on a daily basis....cinnamon bread for breakfast, pb &j or chicken nuggets for lunch and then pizza for dinner-anything other than those foods and he will usually do some sort of complaining. He really dislikes trying anything new, though he has gotten a bit better over the past year....but he does ok with having 8 bites at a minimum. 
• He loves to watch Star Wars and loves the Top Gun and Back to the Future movie as well as the Marvel Avengers movies and the new "Twisters" movie.
• He loves tractors, trucks and any kind of construction equipment
• Charlie is a huge helper and loves to have a "job". Whatever job he is given, he really does well too! He also loves a checklist! I've developed a morning and afternoon checklist for the boys to follow and it is so helpful for Charlie to know what else needs to be done and he enjoys crossing off each task. 
• He loves to be outside! He loves to help John with anything....driving the tractor, yard work, tinkering in the barn, etc. 
• While driving, he will point out every single tractor, truck, lawn mower, semi, dump truck, excavator, etc. etc. etc. along the way. There is no such thing as a quiet ride with Charlie. He also asks thought provoking questions that sometimes I don't even have answers to.
• He is wearing size 8/small clothes but still really prefers just walking around in his underwear.
• He is very kind to Winston and loves to walk him on the leash. He's even taken him outside by himself a few times. He enjoys being with the chickens too, but is pretty cautious because the roosters make him nervous.
• He really loves riding his bike and hoverboard with the kart attachment to the neighbors house to play
• His favorite snacks are goldfish, pirate booty and clif bars
• He really only likes to drink water and apple juice
• He really enjoys playing just about any sport: baseball, flag football, basketball....he loves to compete and has a blast playing with friends.
• He can read very well!
• His favorite songs are "Ain't no Love in Oklahoma" (from the Twisters movie) and anything by Imagine Dragons. 
• He loves listening to music on the radio and wants to know the name of each song too. 
• He wants to know about everything....he is curious about life and wants to see it all...and asks LOTS of questions
• Charlie can very clearly tell you what he wants/needs and can explain himself very well
• He is genuinely kind....he is constantly giving out compliments that are 100% sincere. And is even very interested in how someone is feeling about a situation 
• He speaks very well. He has quite the vocabulary, he can say his words clearly enough for most to understand, and speaks in complete sentences.
• If he isn't at church or school, you will see him wearing a hat 
• He is very kind hearted and just wants everyone to have fun.  If he gets in trouble or upsets others he starts crying and runs to his room. 
• Charlie is very outgoing around familiar people, but when in front of people he doesn't know, he is extremely shy
• He loves to dance! (He's got some rythm too!)
• Board games are an absolute favorite for him and he's super competitive (his competitiveness carries over into just about everything he does....he has my Jones genetics in him for sure!)

8 Year Wellness Exam

Weight: 53 lb

Height: 4' 3.5" 

BMI: 14.3

Charlie's appointment went great! He and Dr. Fahler talked about eating, personal hygiene, school, sports, screen time, friends, playing outside and even talked about how Charlie swam in Dr. Fahler's pool this summer for swim lessons! It was a bit hard to get Charlie talking this year, for some reason he clammed up a bit when Dr. Fahler started asking him questions. When Charlie did answer, he very much wanted his answers to be "funny", which Dr. Fahler thought was comical. Dr. Fahler did predict that Charlie will be 6ft tall when he's done growing and very slim, so will be exciting to see how that pans out! Always thankful for another yearly clean bill of health! Charlie requested a cake pop on the way back to school and I can never say no to that! 

Birthday Celebration
This year, Charlie wanted to invite a few friends over to play in a bounce house, have pizza and cake and open presents. His birthday was on a Saturday so it worked out perfectly. He opened family presents that morning then had friends over in the afternoon. It was such a fun day celebrating our sweet boy!