Charles the 7-year-old

Charlie turned 7 a couple weeks ago and boy oh boy has he got me pondering these last 7 years! So much wondering "what the heck am I supposed to do to give this child the best life possible?" and even more "How can we love this human so much?" The day before his birthday we got to go on a little mother/son date to one of Charlie's favorite parks. It was the perfect outing for us. He had so much fun posing for photos and taking photos and we loved playing together. It was one of the longest time frames where I didn't need to ask him to correct his behavior. Like, the whole experience was positive! This may not seem like a big deal to most, but I will just say, Charlie has been a challenging, high energy, not-so-focused child. And I say this with all the love of a Mother, I'm not complaining or angry, just keeping it real. I do want to remember that this child raising is hard, and be grateful for the journey Charlie and I have to go through together.  But one-on-one time is usually great for Charlie and Me. 

So here are some photos from that.

  

So, I have had a hard time figuring Charlie out, He has so much energy and difficulty concentrating, unless it's something he's super excited about. He has such a good heart and loves to be a friend to everyone, he's so confident. 

Charlie is a natural leader. He thinks of great games, inventions, creations, crafts and grand ideas that never come to full fruition...(like the outdoor library where he pulled multiple boxes of books onto the deck, made signs, wanted to invite the whole neighborhood...but then had to put the books away before it rained)

Charlie had a rough start in First Grade. after a couple weeks, he started to dread school. After trying a couple things, we let him start riding the bus and he hasn't had any problems since. He is on track with his reading and we are still searching for a way for him to have better focus during writing time. (Please, we are totally open for suggestions!!)

This boy loves his family. He fights a lot with Miles but they also play amazingly well. He loves bossing Miles around and Miles usually loves to go along with Charlie's grand ideas. Charlie loves making Edwin laugh and play all sorts of games with him.

I promised him that he could take some photos too. it was so fun to see him behind the camera. He instructed me on where to walk, how to stand, where to look, how to tilt my head, and how to smile. He really had a vision.

Then we decided to go on a little hike. I can't keep up with this speedy kid anymore. But luckily he gets easily distracted and I'm able to catch up.

He is a constantly curious! He is always wondering how things work and making inventions.

He had lots of ideas for photos too, so I tried to humor him.

For his birthday I realized he had been inviting people over for awhile various days before his birthday. No one at his school knows where we live yet. I planned him a simple party and invited two close friends and their kids since our living room is small and I didn't want to cram any new friends in there. But before the party, he woke up and he got his favorite meal for breakfast, Puffy Pancakes! (Dutch Pancakes)   

We made Charlie's cake, he requested the same cake we made him last year, a doughnut shaped, super chocolatey cake with blue frosting.

 

After awhile we drove out to pick up Max from work and we went to Red Robin for a birthday lunch! (All birthdays here revolve around food apparently) 

After lunch, my mom and Don picked up charlie to take him to pick out a Build-a-Bear and get some ice cream. 

After he got home, he decorated his cake. 

We got out the ingredients to make personal Naan pizzas and our friends came over and we all made pizzas. (and Apparently no photos of pizza were taken) After pizza time the kids got all sugared up with cake!

Charlie's theme for his birthday revolved around his goal to be a chef. He got some kid cookbooks, a rolling pin. He also, got an umbrella he's super excited about. He said his big goal is to be a chef and his little goals are to cook something everyday, and to take a cooking class when he's eight. It has actually been super fun to cook with him. He has gone through his recipe books and marked recipes he wants to try. Then he picks two each week and writes the ingredients on my grocery list. (He's mostly picked treats so far) I seriosuly get so excited for positive activities i can do with Charlie. I know he gets super overwhelmed at school and home for people correcting his behavior or scolding him. So when I find something that both make us happy and we get excited about it and he can focus and listen and have fun, it just feels amazing.

And here's Mr. Charlie's interview

Name: Charles

Nicknames:Charlie

How old are you? 7

What is your favorite color? Blue and Red and Gold

What is your favorite animal? Cheetah

What is your favorite book? The Book with no Pictures

What is your favorite TV show? "I have 2, PJ Masks and My little Pony"

What is your favorite movie? "I don't know which are movies or not"

What is your favorite song?A made-up song, goo goo ga ga"

What is your favorite food?I have 2 favorite foods, macaroni and cheese and Puffy Pancakes"

What is your favorite drink?"juice, all kinds of juices."

What is your favorite snack? Treats

What is your favorite treat? Ice Cream

What is your favorite outfit? My blue pants and My light blue shirt

What is your favorite game? Don't Eat Pete and Duck Duck Goose

What is your favorite toy? My magnet Car

Who is your best friend? "Gwenevere and Grace and Everett and Their whole family"

What is your favorite thing to do? Playing with My friends

What is your favorite thing to do outside? "Play with friends"

What is your favorite holiday?"Christmas"

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "My Stuffed animals"

Where is your favorite place to go? "Fun Friday at School"

What is your favorite restaurant? Red Lobster

Where do you want to go on vacation? Disneyland

What do you love? My family
 What did you do on your birthday? "Have cake, friends come over to my house"

What do you do really well? "Ride my bike"

What makes you laugh? "Jokes"

What are you afraid of? "Monsters"

What do you like to do with your family? "Fun stuff, stuff that I like"

What do you love to learn about? "Science"

What is your mom good at?"Playing with me"

What is your dad good at?"Playing with me"

What is Miles good at? "Learning at Preschool"

What is Edwin good at? "He's learning how to talk"

Tell me a joke? "What did the blueberry say to the air?" "What?" "Umm..I'm thinking...why are you writing whatever I say? can you erase it..ahhhh, You're getting blew-berry"
Charlie didn't seem to like that I wrote all the out so here is a new joke...
Charlie's new joke: What did the strawberry say to the hot water?" "What?" "You're getting strawberry hot?"
What is something you learned this year? "Uhhh...I did not learn anything!'
 What makes mommy laugh? "Knock knock" "Who's there" "goo goo ga ga" "Goo goo ga ga who?" "Why are you doing whatever I say"
 What's a nice thing you have done for someone? "give them cookies."

And there is a whole lot about our Charlie. Everyday is a learning experience with him but boy do we love him, he is amazingly helpful and an exceptional Big Brother!