Eight Years Old

It gets a little harder to write these updates as the years go by.  It's hard to believe that it's been eight years since I snuggled my first born little baby Ephraim.  I had no idea what the years would hold, but its been a wonderful, and crazy ride.

Ephraim is smart.  So smart.  He loves numbers, math, and animal facts.  He will spend hours reading little animal factoids, and loves to quiz us on our knowledge of animals, and math.  He helps me calculate tithing, savings and spending from his allowance, and is a great baking buddy, because he helps me make sure I get the fractions right when we double or triple a recipe.  Sometimes he uses his smartness to try and get away with things.  He is pretty sneaky, but not quite sneaky enough yet.

Ephraim really loves video games.  Playing Fortnite is his all time favorite, and he will do just about anything to earn video game time.  He talks about Fortnite a lot!  He also will play some other games, but usually only if Fortnite isn't an option.  We spend a fair amount of time talking about moderation, and the wide variety of things that life has to offer.

When given free time, he will often instigate wrestling with Asher.  Sometimes he can be a little mischievous and mean, but most of the time they play really well together.  He loves his cute baby Everest.  Being in quarantine has really strengthened the bond between Ephraim and his siblings.  They are really learning to play together and love each other.

Ephraim loves people.  He loves to talk to his friends and family.  He will talk to anyone, and really misses seeing his friends during quarantine.

Ephraim isn't much into reading stories and really does not like writing, but he will spend a fair amount of time drawing and inventing weapons and comics about various characters (mostly fortnite related), but he will write and leave notes around if he is sad, or feeling especially grateful.  I like to find those.

Ephraim feels things a lot.  If he gets hurt, he can be quick to anger, but he copes by trying to run and be alone to process his feelings.  He can be overwhelmed by lots of sounds, or stimulation and needs a break.  He is learning to recognize this about himself, and if he isn't too tired, he can cope by finding some space to get away.  He also is getting better at expressing his feelings, and we have a lot of really good discussions about life.

Ephraim really turned a corner in school this year.  He is easily distracted and his mind wanders, and a side-effect of this can also lead to him being disruptive, and saying out anything that comes to his mind, even if it is off topic.  He worked so hard this year to make better choices and finish his work, and work on staying on task.  He got his work done, and was more patient with his classmates and teachers.

Before quarantine threw a wrench into things he was trying out karate.  He was improving so much on concentration and awareness.  He earned his yellow belt.  I am excited for him to do it again when quarantine ends.

You are an incredibly picky eater, and it only seems to get worse.  At least he loves most vegetables, but dinner is a battle every night, unless we are eating brats, pizza, or mac n' cheese.  You also have a huge sweet tooth and get in trouble often for sneaking treats.

Awhile ago Ephraim asked if we could see the Milky Way, so we planned a trip to go see the Milky Way, and because of quarantine we used it as a chance to celebrate his birthday.  Ephraim has really enjoyed learning about the stars, and is excited to do some more star gazing.

Ephraim wanted to spend his real birthday playing Fortnite, but instead he woke up and tried being sneaky.  So he lost his video game privileges.   He was devastated at first, but then cheered up and had a really good attitude about spending the day fishing, and eating his favorite dinner (Brats and corn on the cob).

It's been so great learning and growing with you all these years, and I am looking forward to what the next years hold.