1. A big Nerf dart gun
2. $11.00
3. A friend party
Pretty reasonable, I think. He may regret these choices later on ;)
The gun was easy. I let him pick it out.
The $11.00 was even easier, especially since he put all of it towards something else he was saving for.
The friend party? Well, that was the tough bit. Robert named four friends that he wanted to invite, two of them from school. I had to send a note to his teacher to pass on to his friends' homework folders to ask the friends' parents for their contact information. A little awkward, and time consuming, but one parent got back to me :) If Robert had taken the party invitations to school, he would have had to invite the whole class. That's the school rule.
Hosting parties makes me nervous. Hosting kid parties makes me sweat. Hosting a kid party for five 7-year-old boys makes me want to run and hide. Literally. And I did. Bobby was the adult on-hand at the party. I was out and about running errands for most of it. I feel kinda bad about that, but I don't think Robert cared. He and I worked together beforehand on all the preparations: planning activities, gathering prizes/treats, prepping and sending invitations. And here's kinda how it went:
2:00 Party scheduled to start, free play in front room
2:30 All guests have arrived and they play Pin the Brain on the Zombie
2:35 Play "Shoot the birthday hat off the end of the table"
2:43 Go on a clue-driven treasure hunt, find snack/prize
2:55 Enjoy snack/prize
3:00 Play BINGO with prizes
3:15 Open birthday gifts and BINGO prizes
3:22 Popsicles outside
3:25 Free play until picked up (mostly basketball and Simon Says)
Robert was a loud, fun, crazy kind of kid with his friends around. He was still Robert, but a different one somehow from what I imagined he would be like with his friends. I only see him play with his siblings (mostly Alice). This, however, was a totally new experience for me. His friends are nothing like Alice :) I liked seeing that side of him.
Robert is growing up quietly and solidly, like a hardwood tree. The solid part intrigues me. He's not very whimsical or flighty or spontaneous. He's fun and creative and solid...thinks things through a little. Looks for patterns. And will talk to me all day about those things. He'll also stop talking when he's done explaining something, which I appreciate. He doesn't feel the need to fill the silence.
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| Robert made a sign for all the marathon runners going by our house this year :) |
He's in no rush to grow up.
The other day, Robert was wrestling with Matthew. Wrestling with Matthew is pretty much sitting still or lying down while he crawls all over you with "hiya!" and "grrr!" and "nnnngh!" sounds. It's more fun if you wrestle back, but Matthew doesn't like to get out of control. Robert thought it was SO funny (and fun?) to play this way. He laughed and laughed. He was so skillful with Matthew that Matthew felt he was actually winning! At one point, Matthew had thrown a pillow on Robert's head and sat on it.
Robert is gentle with Matthew in ways he has never been with James. He and James don't always get along, mostly because they assume the other person is out to get them...which (ahem) is often true...but they do have one game they play together and seem to genuinely enjoy: chase and wrestle. How simple is that? When Robert is mad at James, he'll hit him. But when they're playing this specific chase and wrestle game, no one gets hurt. It's physical and loud and rough and all over the house, but no punches. James has started to play it with Matthew with mixed results...more positive than negative, I think. They both have fun with it. James and Matthew's relationship is a subject for another day, though. I love watching them grow together.
Here's a video of Robert and James in a more cooperative moment. They get it going about 20 seconds in (I wish I knew how to edit these videos better):
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| In the gardens by the Japan House during cherry blossom time. |
Robert and Alice's relationship has grown, too. They often cooperate and compromise. Sometimes Robert gives up to Alice's wishes because he doesn't want her to throw a fit. Sometimes he gives her control because he loves her and wants her to be happy. Sometimes he'll stand his ground and let her storm off. He will almost always save a special privilege or treat to share with her. He pesters her, they share inside jokes, they respect each other's privacy and personal space. They make really, really good roommates, actually.
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| Robert's class made ice skaters as part of the Boneyard Arts Festival. Here they are on display at the library. Robert's skater is middle-ish, large, with a red shirt and blue pants and a little triangle hat. |
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