Eric is 12 and quickly turning into a teenager. Friends warned me that when he turned 12 he would withdraw from the family. I kept thinking Eric would be different. He is really attached to Mario and I. Eric has changed in some ways, but for the most part, being 12 hasn't been as bad as what my friends predicted. The other day I took the three younger kids to the skatepark after school. I knew Eric would be going over after he was out of school too. When he showed up, he hardly even made eye contact with me. I guess I might embarrass him and try to give him a hug or kiss or something that would totally ruin his whole life. But when we are home, he is likes to cuddle up next to me on the couch and watch or movie. Or he jumps at the opportunity to go to the grocery store with me. Overall, he is a sweet kid that loves his family very much. Example: last night Nathan was asleep and he fell off the bed. Eric quickly ran to his aid and then went to my room to get some overstuffed pillows to lay on the floor in case it happened again. He also heard a loud bang when Erin was taking a shower. He ran over to knock on the door and make sure she was alright.
Erin...When she was one or two, our Christmas letter stated that if we could guarantee all our kids would be like Erin, we'd have a dozen. That quickly changed when she hit 3. She threw too many temper tantrums to count. But something magical happened this past year and she has turned into a daughter that we wish we could clone. She cooks, she cleans, and she excels in everything she tries. I am not sure there's anything she can't do. She adores Nathan and loves to hang out with Eric. The only improvement I would ask from her is to be a little nicer to Zach. Lately, I have found her being a lot kinder, so she is working on it. She still has her moments that frustrate me, but those aren't very often anymore. She is an all around terrific kid. Mario and I think she is going to make one lucky young man very happy (and fat) one day.
Nathan...He is a lot of fun to have around. He makes us all laugh. He loves Pooh Bear, but if we could describe his personality he would be a little more like Eeyore. We need to work on the glass being half full instead of half empty. Nathan cracks us up with things that he says. For example, I found a good deal on a Didj (gaming system) like Zach's. I asked Nathan if he would like to spend his Christmas money on it. He said no, he didn't want one. Then a few days later, he decided he really did want one and asked me why I wouldn't let him buy one. Times like that I want to pull my hair out. Finally I took him back to the store (I thought for sure they would be sold out since it was such a good deal.) Now he didn't have enough money for the Didj and the game so Zach agreed to pay for the game and share with Nathan. Nathan liked the idea until the transaction was all over and then he wanted the game too. I told him that he didn't have enough money. So he said, "I guess my Didj is just for decoration then." So dramatic but always good for a laugh from the family.
Zachary...Zach was born thinking he would rule our home. For 6 years he has tried, but that time is over. I bought a book called "The Strong Willed Child" by Dobson. After reading that book, I was convinced that I was the boss and Zachary was just going to have to accept it even if it meant some tough discipline from me. With Mario deploying, I needed to take control. Zach had a rough couple days, but I think he is finally realizing that I mean what I say. I just have to be consistent and stay on top of him. But I adore Zach (as I do all the kids). I always wanted to have a little boy named Zachary. He takes every opportunity to sleep with me when Mario is out of town. He loves animals, especially our dog Buzz. He wants to be a veterinarian but isn't sure he wants to treat cats. :) He recently started asking for his own dog. So we told him that he could call Buzz his own. He loves telling everyone in the family that Buzz belongs to him which makes us all laugh since Buzz has been part of our family for almost 10 years now. But the kids don't complain because then Zach gets the chores of feeding him and taking him outside.
Another observation about Nathan and Zachary is that they almost never get in any trouble when they are separated. They feed off each other whenever we go anywhere. I often think they revert back to acting like 3 year olds. But when we take them out one-on-one, they are perfectly behaved children. That is the reason Mario and I try to separate them as much as possible when running errands or going on small trips to see Abuela.
1 comment:
This is so awesome that you wrote somethings about each child, which will mean a lot to them when they get older to know what they were like when they were younger.
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