In either case, I have decided doing individual posts to update on stats and interests was just three too many; thus, we will be condensing it into one The Kids Today: 2018 Master post!
Current ages: Emerald is 11 and in fifth grade; Gabriel is 9 and in third; Benjamin is 7 and in first; and Tula is 19 months old (as of this post) and all up in my business while I am trying to type this.
Nicknames: as a unit, I generally call them squirrels. I noticed earlier today that I call each of them by a food-related pet name. Emerald is Strawberry because she was fuzzy and red when she was born. Gabriel is Tater Tot, because I am Potato and he is mini me. Benjamin is Vanilla Cupcake because he came out smelling like a vanilla cupcake. And Tula is Noodle, because her wacky blonde curls look like a bowl full of ramen.
Favorites!
I have asked the kids that are capable of it to answer these questions, so truly, I do not know what they have to say. Hopefully it goes well.
Games Tula is a baby, therefore she likes Peek-a-Boo, hide and seek, and really generally anything in the whole wide world just so long as you are paying attention to her.
Benjamin wrote: My favorite game is Monopoly because it is fun. I like to be the Hat.
Gabriel really likes tickle games--he puts Michael’s hand over his face and Michael gently shakes Gabe’s head while covering his face. He thinks it is really funny.
Emerald wrote: My favorite video games are currently Minecraft, Mario Run, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. My favorite board game is Clue. At school, my “group” is currently playing this magical game about elves and fairies and horses and Lord Voldemort. Don’t ask.
Activities
Tula wants to be outside all day, every day. She likes to dig in the mud and lay on the trampoline and have her siblings tote her around in her little red wagon. When we have them, she likes coloring with chalk on the sidewalk and blowing bubbles, too. Like Emerald at that age, she can be happy no matter where we are, but she is most happy outdoors.
Benjamin: Creating. I like making board games, building houses, cardboard crafts. {Andie’s commentary: Benjamin is imaginative--he builds with legos and blocks and kinex; no cardboard box is safe in our house because he will be transforming it into something. He earned money dog-sitting for my mother and used that money to buy a hammer, nails, and sandpaper. Whenever he gets a chance, he likes to go to the garage and sand the wooden pallets that we put out there for him. He says he is going to build a tree house when he can get all the wood smooth.}
Gabriel: Gabe seems restless and aimless a lot of the times, almost haunting our house wandering from room to room. He still loves to jump on the trampoline and takes extra long showers; he would swim a lot if we had somewhere we could take him to swim. But when he is home, he has trouble settling to anything.
Emerald: I like spending my time reading, writing, and pretending to strum on my cheap fake guitar. I also like Sudoku.
TV ShowsTula is all about them Wiggles. We tried it at the suggestion of a friend to distract her when we had to do finger pokes or insulin shots, and frankly it has been a lifesaver.
Benjamin: BATMAN. The cartoon one.
Gabriel: Gabriel, unsurprisingly, loves to watch...VeggieTales. I know! I can hear your collective gasp from here. It has only been his favorite since he was first allowed to start watching tv. He can also get behind some PBS shows like “The Cat in the Hat” and “Super Why”.
Emerald: Pokemon is a big favorite of mine. I am also into Cartoon Network Shows such as Steven Universe and Teen Titans GO!
Food
Tula’s doctor recently asked what she eats at a doctor’s visit and I totally blanked. This kid eats Guacamole and Avocado like a fiend. I mean, she will fight you for it--she once slapped me in the face for it. She is also a big fan of sausage links, mashed potatoes, and frozen mixed mexican veggies.
Benjamin: STAKE. {Benjamin likes meat, except turkey which is the only food he insists he does not care to eat. I do not force the issue. He is a super agreeable eater for the most part. His favorite is spicy foods; he always asks me to get him spicy cinnamon or to remember extra salsa.}
Gabriel we got lucky with--he is a good eater. He eats well in both variety and quantity. His favorites are beans and rice, cornbread, skillet potatoes. Simple tastes.
Emerald: I don’t really have a favorite food. Spaghetti is still a big “yes” for me. I also LOVE lemon.
Movies
Tula likes “Madagascar 2”, but she is a baby and doesn’t watch movies really.
Benjamin: Incredibles 2. It used to be “Nightmare Before Christmas” but I liked watching The Incredibles 2.
Gabriel’s tastes are pretty steady--he still likes Disney’s “Hercules”, “Mulan”, and “Robin Hood”, as well as Toy Story 1 & 2 and Monsters Inc. We have them in a pretty tight rotation.
Emerald: I’m not really into movies but I like Incredibles 2.
{Can you guess what we just watched a couple of days ago?}
SongsTula is all about “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. That is straight up her jam. She does the little hand motions and it is just the cutest thing you have ever seen. When we are driving, she likes listening to the 70’s station--particularly fond of Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, and Crosby Stills & Nash.
Benjamin: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord. {So Benjamin is my musical one; he is currently writing a Blues Opera that he often sings pieces of to me. It helps him process his more complex emotions, I think. Michael located a first gen ipod not too long ago and loaded it up with music; that makes Ben so happy. He likes music from the 60’s station, bluesville; he sings “I Am a Stone” by Demon Hunter and then “7 Hours Ago” by Honeywater. His tastes are eclectic.)
Everyone has their radio station in the car that they prefer. Gabriel’s station is The Message, the Christian radio station. He is fairly docile with whatever you put on--he will cry and cover his ears for a lot of things, and is super sensitive to how loud it gets--but he genuinely enjoys listening to contemporary Christian music. Barring that, he also likes the 50’s station. When he is especially agitated out in the world, I can sing Billy Joel’s “Longest Time” and it calms him down almost like magic.
Emerald: I like Taylor Swift, Kidz Bop, and Imagine Dragons. I recently got a radio on my phone and I always listen to all my fave bands.
BooksTula has recently gotten much more interested in reading. There are a handful of books we have to read several times a day--Animal Noises, I’m Sunny, the Colors Book, That’s Not My Train, Touchy-Feely Animal book. Almost all of them are the Usbourne books, now that I think on it. Outside of that, I read my bible study lesson aloud to her every day, as well as excerpts from whatever I am currently reading, and we listen to classics on audiobook.
Benjamin: The Pout-Pout Fish. {Okay, so when each of the kids were little, they had a book that they made me read just over and over and over again ad nauseum. Emerald’s was “Where the Wild Things Are”, Gabriel’s “Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You? And Benjamin’s was “The Pout Pout Fish” that Aunt Janice sent to him in the mail. We have read that book, and its sequel, so many times I don’t even need to look at the pages any more--I know it by heart.}
Gabriel isn’t much into reading, to be honest. He likes to flip through books, particularly those that have characters he is familiar with, Woody and Buzz or Bob and Larry. He still enjoys listening to me read aloud; when he is upset, sometimes he still crawls in my lap and I quietly read to him while he just relaxes into my arms. Whenever the option is presented, he enjoys listening to passages from the Bible with the notable caveat: he strongly prefers actual text to children’s story versions.
Emerald: Harry Potter, hands down. I also like graphic novels and any book by Rick Riordan. Also, sudoku.
ToysTula has a stuffed giraffe in neon colors that Aunt Melisa got her--she carries that thing, so named Gail by Emerald, everywhere. It is starting to get a tad ratty and I fear the day we lose it somewhere. Tula also plays a lot with baby dolls. She is partial to Cabbage Patch Kids, but Woody the Cowboy is often carted around as well. Recently, she has taken to playing with the Fisher Price barn.
Benjamin: the Farm. {When he was little, we had that FP barn everywhere he might go because he played with it so frequently. He hasn’t touched it in years, preferring to work in the art center or play outside or build with legos, but I think he is feeling possessive since Tula started eyeing it more.)
Gabriel loves his Buzz Lightyear--it’s got wings, it glows in the dark, and the helmet does that whoosh thing. It is, arguably, a cool toy. Beyond that, he likes bouncing his basketball and rolling dice. I think he likes the sound.
Emerald: I like Barbies. I am also really getting into art, if that counts.
All my kids are so unique and varied--each one of them has their own interests and personalities that are so particular to just them. It is a fascinating pleasure to watch them grow up and to get to know them better as they are figuring out what they like and what they don’t, who they are going to be.
Emerald, my bright and curious girl, who loves the color green and wants to grow up to be a chef, scientist, and president.
Gabriel, my deep, tender-hearted boy that we are still learning so much about, who helps me clean up and doesn’t notice he is getting too big for Mommy’s lap.
Benjamin, my sweet, sensitive child that loves orange and red and wants to be a preacher so he can tell the whole world about God.
And Tula, a stubborn spitfire who is a Mama’s girl through and through, who has overcome a lot for such a new person but is becoming more complex every day.I am so blessed to have been entrusted with these four wonderful people, and I can’t wait to see who they become.
--Andie
No comments:
Post a Comment