Holden @ age 8!

This boy has grown up this year! He has matured so much. He's still an 8 year old boy, which apparently means potty humor is hilarious. Ick!! But in so many areas this past year, I have watched my son grow and mature and understand so many more pieces about life and relationships and his Heavenly Father. In fact, on March 29, just over a month ago, he made the decision that he wants to truly follow Jesus with his life. It was an exciting day for this family! This is something we have prayed for Holden since the beginning. God has gently been pursuing his heart and I trust that he will continue as Holden grows to know him more and more.

 And speaking of growing up, he's just tall. He is long, lean and very long-legged. His height is in those legs. This past fall/winter he was wearing size 12 slim in pants as a 7 year old. And his summer shorts are also all size 12 slim. He is 56" tall. Which officially puts him off the charts in height. And he weighs 64lbs (81%). His height always brings up the subject of basketball. But so far soccer has been a sport where he really excels. Just today I was grinning while watching him play as I heard a lady behind me saying, "Wow! Number 12 has some speed. He is fast!" She didn't realize that I was the proud momma of that cute #12. I have a feeling I will be cheering this boy on in sports for many more years. I love being on the sidelines watching him shine and have so much fun. He is very competitive. He is very driven by competition. He can also be a sore loser, particularly if it's a one-on-one competition. But this season in soccer he has found the fun of a team. He is PASSING the ball now! Even when he has more confidence in his own abilities than in his teammates. He can be a bit of a control freak (Amen to any other first born control freaks out there?). So letting go of that soccer ball and passing it to a teammate that you can't completely trust to score is a big deal for him. And he's doing it. He's understanding the sport more and more this year and understanding the benefits of passing and playing together. Watching him play soccer is a big highlight of my week. #proudsoccermom He also enjoyed flag football in the fall. And this summer, we think he may be doing a track club. He loves to run and race other kids, so track should be right up his alley.

Holden has been a trooper in school this year. Last year he realized that he had 12 more years of this school junk and he tried to hold a revolt. It didn't go so well for him. This year, we tweaked our routine and it has gone really smoothly. Except his younger brother tried to hold his own revolt, but we can talk about that in August when it's his birthday. :) I'm convinced that it's a 1st grader thing. So Holden will be completing the second grade in less than 2 weeks. He has really enjoyed science this year. That was probably his favorite subject. Math has been a harder subject for him, but the problem might be the teacher. (All fingers pointing at me since we homeschool.) Reading and writing comes easily for him. We get our school work done in the morning. Then when we're done, we play. Holden often still takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoons. I know this is highly unusual for his age. We don't know exactly why, but the boy needs a nap. Without it he sometimes gets a migraine headache or will fall asleep somewhere at 5pm or 6pm. If we are busy he can often push himself and be okay. But if it's just a regular old weekday and we're home, he naps.

Riding his bike is his favorite activity. If the obsession continues, we may get out of buying him a car when he is 16. I think he will be perfectly happy to ride his little bike wherever he needs to go. :) The boy loves to be outside and to be active. Riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, swimming, playing sports and just running around. He is an outdoorsy boy. Just being outside makes him so happy. In recent weeks we have been spending a whole lot of time outside.

Holden is still our social butterfly. Wednesdays have been a highlight for him this year. We have been attending a homeschool co-op on Wednesdays. Then he has church activities on Wednesday evenings. It is an entire day with lots of friends, just his cup of tea. He has also made a point to meet every child somewhat close to his age (or his height) on our street. I adore how easily he makes friends. He is a friendly little boy. He also plays most afternoons outside with our neighbors once they are home from school.

Holden and Pax are great buddies. I love watching them laugh, play and joke together. They are really close. They have plenty of moments where they don't get along. But, more often than not, they live in friend mode and it's special to see. Holden is also a big helper with Abe. Sometimes too big of a helper, like he needs someone to boss, and Abe is "it". This was a few weeks ago when the boys had just woken up. Abe woke not feeling well with asthma and he didn't want to be put down. Holden held him just like this while I was getting breakfast on the table for the boys. Goodness, they can be so sweet to one another. I try to hang on to these moments and memories and throw out the ones when they are fighting. :)

I think Holden will always be my sweet boy no matter how big grows. Though I will admit that he is still the biggest daddy's boy that you can imagine. He still wants to be just like him and you can see the intense admiration he has for this man. 

I will forever be thankful for the way God orchestrates our lives often against our own prayers and desires. He gave us the greatest gift and it has been an incredible 8 years.