Our baby is NINE!! I say it every year but I can't believe he's that old. He's not changed a whole lot this year in some ways, but in other ways has grown significantly! 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 and even acts as mature as teens some days. He loves sports and will practice whatever sport he is currently playing until he's reached complete exhaustion-he is one committed 9 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. Schwartz said to the kids when they didn't follow directions, to how great lunch was, who played what position at recess, 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. His love language is definitely still 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 9 bites at a minimum. This next year his goal is to work on eating more dairy.
- 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 "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 youth medium 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 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 anything by Imagine Dragons and Thomas Rhett. He also loves Alabama.
- 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!)
- This fall season, Charlie has really enjoyed following every team. He entered into a competitive "pool" with some of John's coworkers and has thoroughly loved picking a winning team for each week. He is totally invested.
- Charlie plans to be a football player when he grows up. His backup plan is to be a Paleontologist or be in the air force.
9 Year Wellness Exam
Weight: 59.75 pounds
Height: 4' 6" (at this point he's projected to be 6' tall!)
This appointment was almost identical to last year's. Charlie talked with Dr. Fahler about his eating habits, football, school, friends and plying outside. Dr. Fahler was pleased with Charlie's growth and his projections are still that he will be slim and 6ft tall. After Charlie's physical exam, we got our paperwork and were on our way out. He didn't get any shots, but still requested a cake pop from Starbucks before going back to school. I say this with every single yearly checkup, but I am so thankful for an uneventful exam.
Birthday Celebration
Charlie wanted to do something pretty different this year and asked to go to Holiday World to celebrate his birthday. After discussing it, we decided why not?! and booked it for later in September. It was so much fun! While it was hotter than we thought it would be, we all had a great time spending the weekend in Southern Indiana. (Pictures in "Boy Things, Holiday World, Pep Assembly" Post)
Charlie wanted to do something pretty different this year and asked to go to Holiday World to celebrate his birthday. After discussing it, we decided why not?! and booked it for later in September. It was so much fun! While it was hotter than we thought it would be, we all had a great time spending the weekend in Southern Indiana. (Pictures in "Boy Things, Holiday World, Pep Assembly" Post)
Because we were celebrating his birthday a bit later, we still had cake at the Purdue game the day before his actual birthday and let him open presents on his actual birthday.
