This was/is Beckett's birthday week.
And man does he love the attention! LOL
I suppose because he's the youngest, his personality is partly dictated just by birth order. It's probably influenced by being carted all over the place from the time he was born. I'm certain I contributed to it by outfitting him in 90% hand-me-down. And I'm certain there's an inherent, God-given piece of the puzzle too. (I'm a nature + nurture kinda gal and would never consider one or the other as king.)
Whatever the case, Beckett keeps us all pretty darn entertained! All. The. Time. He's not a casual, side-kick kinda kid. He requires your focus and attention. Example, he asks a LOT of questions. But these aren't the kind of questions you can just answer without thought. The stuff he wants to talk about requires actual engagement. I'm not complaining (really) but it's kinda exhausting sometimes! I don't know where the workers building the bridge park. I have no idea why the neighbors chose to have another baby. I never thought who decides what cereal to put on which shelf.
He's a trip!
We had his parent/teacher conference this week. I'm always a little apprehensive about these events. Beck is a good kid because I know he means well, but he's not always the most well-behaved child in the classroom/bus/field/yard. He has a quick temper and does not handle situations he views as "unfair" well. He wants everyone to like him - and honestly kids gravitate to him naturally because he has a big personality. But if there's a conflict or a kid decides Beck's not for them, he doesn't always handle that well. He's also a very bright kid (not bragging, just honest) and has a pretty crappy work ethic. This leads to scenarios where he just doesn't feel like he needs to do the work cause he already knows the stuff. He's probably right, but that's really not a good approach. In fairness, this is much better as he matures!
I get some glimpses of what Beck may evolve to as he gets older, but I don't think he's quite picked a lane yet. He's still in that golden age where he knows he can play in the NFL and be a scientist and cook delicious meals and will live in a house on the same street as me with his family when he's older. He's currently sitting in our kitchen playing Roblox in a turkey onesie. He's a free spirit with enough self-confidence that he does what he wants and does not care about what anyone thinks about it. I hope he can hang onto some of that as he moves into middle school next year.
I can't wait to watch how he changes as the years pass - but I'm pretty certain the core of who Beckett is won't change one bit. He's, as I've said many times before, the perfect exclamation point to our family.
This week we have gotten to celebrate him over and over - which he has loved. We had dinner at his choice (sushi conveyor belt restaurant) with my parents last weekend. Then we took cupcakes to his football team on Tuesday and he beamed while they sang to him. We let him skip wrestling practice on Wednesday and went out for Mexican and he shared with the waitress it was his birthday - and was rewarded with free dessert. Today we are heading to Publix to pick out some snacks for his party tomorrow. After his football game tomorrow we are having a few of his friends over to play and a couple to spend the night. He's over the moon excited and has big plans to wake up early to help me make them pancakes on Sunday morning.
I wish him the happiest of birthdays and pray for a fun, successful - and big - year for him.
PS - this weekend we will also be celebrating Zane's return to a wrestling mat. He's wrestling in a scramble on Saturday as one of only 2 middle school kids heading to the tourney with the high school coaches. AND Spencer will also be on the field on Saturday as he's earned himself a starting spot on the Citadel Rugby A team. I'm 100% sure Quinn is also doing super fun and exciting things down in the 'boro too. I can't wait to see him again in a few weeks for Thanksgiving.
