Hello again! What a different world we're currently living in since the last time I posted. Currently, we're taking things one day at a time and adjusting to our new normal -- hoping our new normal doesn't over-stay its welcome.
But I digress.
It's been nearly a month since my previous update, and I've got birthdays, Valentine's Day, day to day life updates... and a big family vacation still to document.
We'll start with Jaden Timothy and his 12th birthday that we celebrated in January. It's hard to believe that he's almost a teenager, that in a little over a year he'll be able to get behind the wheel of a car, that junior high is looming near and large. I don't feel old enough to have a teenager, but here we are!
Jaden continues to make us proud, keep us on our toes, make us laugh and/or roll our eyes, pull our hair out, push our buttons, stretch us and grow us... the list goes on and on. He's one of a kind, this boy of ours. He's still the life of the party, still feels passionately about his family and his sports, has given up Fortnite and taken up an obsession with hunting videos and magazines, and continues to be an outstanding big brother to his sissy.
At our recent parent/teacher conferences, we were told that he's a leader in math class, never does anything to negatively draw attention to himself, is respectful and kind to all... and also sometimes looks like he's in the middle of a daydream. ;) He's not shy about admitting that his mind wanders to the things he loves and enjoys, but he's also grown so much this year when it comes to being accountable for his own responsibilities. He still fights me on emptying the dishwasher and can't put his dirty clothes in the hamper to save his life, but he is learning how to do his own laundry and has gotten much better at remembering to bring his homework home. He went on a hunting trip with Cody a few weeks ago, and we saw growth there, too. He spends very little time with video games these days and prefers to watch sports YouTube videos, hang out with family, shoot hoops in the driveway as much as possible, and binge watch Friends on YoutTube. :) If the everyone in the world could watch Jaden while he's watching Friends, EVERYONE would be happier. This kid can laugh and has the greatest sense of humor, and when we're in the middle of a Friends episode, he very often can be found out of breath from laughter, beating his hands and feet on the furniture while trying to control his volume. :)
We recently attended our first Junior High orientation, where he was super excited to learn that he will indeed get to start a weight lifting program, and he also just recently wrapped up his fourth year of Outlaws basketball which was full of ups and downs that he - as always - handled with maturity beyond his years. Every parent says it, but time is going way too quickly. We're lucky this kid is ours. He's good, kind, funny, handsome, athletic and goofy.
To celebrate him we did exactly what he asked. A few days before our trip to Florida we kept it low key with family and cake and a few presents. We sang happy birthday and made him blow out candles. And then on his actual birthday, we visited the Magic Kingdom and rode his favorite Disney rides all day long.
