nathaniel at 8 years

 Happy 8th birthday to our sweet Nathaniel Thomas!

Our little Wunkie is getting such a big kid. It's hard to believe this blue eyed boy already has his second year of elementary school under his belt and is already 8 years old. We think this every year, but we are always amazed at how much he has grown this past year. While he is growing like a weed, his appearance has changed so much. Gone is his little kid smile and we are entering big teeth smiles. Nathaniel is just such a sweetheart. We love how silly, sweet, helpful, strong willed, and independent he is. He has always been our little firecracker, ball of energy, snuggler, charmer, and a joy to have as our son.

Nathaniel finished his first year of Homeschooling. I was his teacher this past year and that had it's challenges. Nathaniel can be the best and hardest student. He is bright and hard working, but can be quite stubborn when he is not interested in doing something. He has grown so much in his reading confidence and in his math. We joined two co-ops which were great for field trips and socializing during a pandemic. We were also grateful to be able to meet with our life group and their kids since one of them is homeschooling as well this year. We met up at parks and hung out quite a bit. We also did a homeschooling class with FLHE, which was also great. The kids really enjoyed it. I loved how much the kids learned this year, but it was a hard year. 

Appearance

Nathaniel has grown so much this year. His chestnut hair is thick and coarse. He has the thickest hair out of anyone we know. He still has his smooth pale skin but he has been getting more and more freckles. You can always find him with multiple bruises, a few scabs, and a couple of bandaids on his limbs. He has heart shaped lips, and and eyes like the ocean framed by long lashes. His build is strong and lean with muscular limbs. He has an impish smile and almond shape eyes like his dad.

Personality

Nathaniel is athletic. This boys has always been on the move ever since he learned how to move his body. He is strong and tall for his age and fairly coordinated. His body and personality were made to move. He loves to climb trees, do flips, ride his bike, ride his scooter, play baseball, roller blade, play basketball, and spin in circles. Despite his athleticism, he still has his share of scrapes and falls. He is pretty tough and typically gets right back up after he gets a band-aid. Nathaniel wants to try to do everything himself, except for when he's tired. He also can have quite a lot of perseverance, trying his best at almost everything he does. And if he doesn't get it right the first time, he sticks to it and does it. If he is told he isn't capable of doing something, it makes him want to try more. This ability to stick to something and practice will help him in different areas of his life. It can also make him ornery if he doesn't get his way.

Nathaniel is extremely social when he is comfortable. In new situations he doesn't say much. When he is comfortable, he is amiable and welcoming, naturally having conversations and bonding friendships. He is most nervous when he finds himself in large groups of people that he doesn't know. We don't think we have ever met anyone who has not loved Nathaniel. Nathaniel prefers to play with others than by himself. He hates being left out of anything. 

Nathaniel's soul is always singing. He loves to make up songs to himself in his little voice. I am going to be so sad when his voice lowers. He prefers to listen to music by himself, listening to his MP3 player.  

Nathaniel was born a helper. He comes by it naturally, since his mother is the same way and so is his big brother. He doesn't always want to help with everything that mom and dad ask him to do. He hates wiping the table, but he loves to help chop vegetables for dinner or help mix ingredients. He is always excited to be the taste tester. Some of the things that he helps out with around the house are cleaning up the toy room, getting the mail, watering the plants, clearing the table after dinner, picking vegetables and fruit from the garden, weeding his section of the garden, and watching Emmalyn. 

Nathaniel is persistent. This is just a kind way of staying the he is stubborn, like his mama. It can make him inflexible and sometimes hard to discipline. While he has made a ton of progress since last year in settling himself down when he gets upset, he can still work himself into an angry mess. This typically results in him lashing out in trying to break things, like hitting the wall. He doesn't typically break anything, but it always make mom upset. When he is exhausted, he becomes a bear. He also becomes jealous of Clara and gets upset with her for being her sing songy self. We often just have to let him cool down on his own in his room. He almost always feels guilty afterwards and wants to hug us to feel better. We also have him apologize and try to figure out ways to deal with life when he is frustrated. As adults, we struggle with this, so we realize that this is all a learning process. 

Nathaniel is still a child of physical touch. He loves snuggling with mom and turns into a house cat if you rub his back. If he is sad or hurt, he wants someone to hold him. He loves having his parents pick him up. Dad carries him up to bed every night. 

Nathaniel is a rule follower. I don't know if we are supposed to pick our children's Enneagram, but he is just like his mom. He probably will be a 1 wing 2. The problem comes into play when other people don't follow the rules. He gets very easily upset. If he were more outgoing with strangers, he would call them out if they weren't wearing a bike helmet or whatever rules we have enforced with them, like no candy before dinner.

Loves

Here are things that Nathaniel loves at 8:

Songs - My Lighthouse and You Will Never Run by Rend Collective, I See The Moon, anything by Coldplay, Moby, Beethoven's 5th Symphony

Food - Strawberries, Raspberries, Bread, Cheese, Pasta with Sauce, Ketchup, Olives, Bacon, and Icecream
Shows - Wild Kratz and Tumbleleaf
Books - The Bible, Don't Let the Pigeon, Humphrey Series, Anything From the Library
Toys - Baseball, Legos, Tractors, Rocks, Bike, Magnatiles
Cooking - Spinning the Lettuce in the salad spinner, Measuring and stirring anything as long as mom will let him taste the batter
Activities - Playing outside, Going on Bike Rides, COSI, Hiking, Baseball, Playing at the Park, Climbing trees, Having play dates with friends, Reading books, 
Sayings - No. I won't., Can I please have some of that for my collection?, I need to! You stinky pooty.

Other Likes - Collecting ALL things (rocks, seashells, wrappers, beads, pine cones, pretty much anything. This kid is still a hoarder), Building with Legos, Carrying his wooden sword in his belt with his giant belt buckle on

Dislikes

Here are things that Nathaniel is not a fan of at 8: Being in large groups of people he doesn't know. Flying insects (especially bees). Being excluded from anything. Ants in the house. Hearing Clara sing. 

Monthly Highlights
Here are some of the highlights from each month. I probably missed some because if I don't have pictures for it, I can't remember it. It's basically like it didn't even happen.

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

Questions

We thought it would be fun to interview Nathaniel and ask him a few questions each year. Here were his answers.

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? I don't really have a favorite. Maybe Legos.
3. What is your favorite food? Crab Legs
4. What is your favorite TV show? Wild Kratt's and Nature Cat
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Smoothies
6. What is your favorite thing to wear? I love shorts. 
7. What is your favorite game? Dragonwood
8. What is your favorite book? People Who Changed the World
9. What is your favorite animal? Giraffes
10. What is your favorite song? Heart is An Empty Room Death Cab for Cutie
11. What is your favorite subject at school? PE  
12. What is your favorite sport? Basketball 
13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Going biking
14. What is your favorite holiday? My birthday, because I like getting presents
15. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My blanket
16. What is your favorite thing to have for dinner? Pasta with Sauce
17. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Lego Master
18. What is the best thing about your family? We have a lot of kids.
19. Describe yourself, what kind of person are you? I have blue eyes. Brown Hair. I love Shorts. I love summer. I am shy at meeting new people that I don't know. I love spinning.
20. If you could go anywhere where would you want to go? I would go to Lake Michigan.
21. What is something that makes you happy? My blanket
22. What is something that makes you sad? If someone destroyed one of my things. 
23. What are you scared of? The dark and strangers. 
24. What is something you are really good at? Soccer and basketball.
25. What is the funniest thing you have ever seen? I have never seen anything funny.

Activities

Baseball

Basketball

AWANA

Cub Scouts

This has been an amazing year of growth for Nathaniel. It has been a full year highs and lows, and many new adventures. We are grateful to have Nathaniel as our child and the privilege of watching him grow up each year. 

Happy 8th birthday to our sweet Nathaniel Thomas. We love you to the moon and back.

Love, Mom & Dad

Nathaniel at - One Year
Nathaniel at - Two Years
Nathaniel at - Two Years & 4 months
Nathaniel at - Two Years & 8 months

Nathaniel at - 3 years
Nathaniel at - 4 years

Nathaniel at - 5 years
Nathaniel at - 6 years

Nathaniel at - 7 years