Eight

Scott turned eight on Thursday. Eight seems so much older than seven. It's the last of the early childhood years and for me, that's a biggie. Seeing as I'm "trained" in early childhood education, there's something mysterious about the years beyond eight. I suddenly find myself living with a child whom I can have both a meaningful conversation and a meaningful fight with. That may sound odd and yet, we all learn something from a fight around here. We may find that we appreciate each other a little bit more after the make up and can problem solve how to avoid that situation again. Ahhh, big kid years. Scott is entering them in earnest now and yet, I'm sure he will be completely different than his brother has been so we'll get to learn a lovely new set of big kid strategies. Since Scott's soul mates may reside at South Park, this could be an interesting ride.

Speaking of rides, Scott hosted a sledding, bonfire, S'mores birthday party. It was a wild ride and it was our best birthday party yet!

Ride on Scott! And enjoy being EIGHT!

Scott's best buddy since babyhood.

Scott's best buddy at home (when speaking), his brother.

Another buddy catching some serious air!

S'mores anyone?

The birthday gang 2010!

Snow Day

Today we had a snow day. It was lovely to wake up and know that school had been cancelled prior to getting out of our pajamas. And with an unexpected day of freedom for the boys and their friends, it has been a day full of boyish business.

Scott awoke with thoughts of his Kindergarten puppet creation of the story of The Three Bears. He's been asking for it all week and was certain that it was in the box of treasures I keep to remember his school years by. I suppose I didn't deem that particular creation worth saving since it wasn't there and although his disappointment was apparent, we agreed that today was a perfect day to create a new puppet show. Today's theme, The Turkey and the Three Pilgrims. Aside from the characters, the storyline was predictable.

I do love his creativity in the area of puppet making.

After hanging out all morning and most of the afternoon, we had a reprise of Nerf Gun war and an additional 5 boys. I didn't even attempt to get that on camera and as the chaos grew deeper, they were sent out to the bitter cold to wear out some boyness. Now they are all dispersing and finding their ways back home. Time for dinner, packing and mentally preparing for the Seattle Marathon. More on that another day.

Homework & Hot Cocoa

Tonight the boys played their violins until their fingers wore out. It was our first "violin-a-thon" with their violin studio. The purpose? To raise funds to provide a Christmas for a family in need. Grant, being the competitive soul that he is, decided that he was certainly going to be the last one standing. The prize for lasting the longest? A cake! To be awarded at a later date and from the baker of the winner's choice. Little did G know, he had some competition. Nope, not from his little brother but from a peer in the studio who was certainly not going to be beat by some boy. So we ended in a tie and Grant thinks that Stratciatella gellato sounds much better than cake. Scott bribed him into sharing, because why try to win if you can get your brother to share? However, they both know if they stick around and play nice, their violin instructor (http://www.stringsontour.com/) may likely give an extra goody before going home. Tonight, they came away with hot chocolate which we enjoyed as we finished up homework before bed.

Good night, sleep tight.

Peace Interrupted

The peace has left the house. A once quiet and peaceful brotherly morning has now been interrupted by an all out Nerf Gun war between 5 boys. There are two teams of two and one referee. There are bases, bombs, darts, and bullets. The ref calls the shots. Although the peaceful morning has gone, this is an alternative form of cooperative play. Bring it on boys!

Peace

It doesn't seem to happen very often, which I do find unfortunate, but when it does I find it purely blissful. The boys are getting along. I will say that as far as brothers go, they get along pretty well most of the time but they are polar opposites. Grant being the outgoing, active extrovert and Scott being the quirky, detail oriented introvert. In other words, they know how to push each others crazy buttons. But today, they are playing, truly playing and engaging in that cooperative type play that all the research says assists in the development of executive functioning.

As Grant gets older, he finds himself wanting to spend his time on the computer or iTouch and less time engaged in creative play (although that was never his strong suit...give the boy a ball already!). Scott on the other hand, is the master of imaginative play and is perfectly happy engaging in his schemes by himself or with others. So when Grant decides to actively PLAY with his brother, I've decided that this is an event worth documenting. Today, the theme is Percy Jackson/Age of Mythology Playmobil. They have set up Half Blood Hill and created all the characters making sure each one has the perfect outfit, hair and accessories. One of the horses even lost a head in order to make Chiron

Grant attemping to "direct" the play.

Scott, well, just being himself.

Enjoy young boys, it's almost time to get ready for church (the peace is about to erupt!)