***Well, I guess life is busy with 3 kids considering I've been working on this post for over a month!
And then he was 8!
Happy birthday to our sweet Auden.
As our oldest child, every time you turn another year older, it just
seems like such a big number and we can’t imagine you being on this planet for
8 years already. You had a wonderful
birthday party with a crew of your 2nd Grade buddies at a Rec Center
that has a big pool with water slides, a whirlpool and a lazy river. You were definitely in your element and had a
blast. What a great and fun group of
boys you go to school with! I feel like
they are all so kind and appreciate everyone no matter their differences. I hope that stays true as the years go
on.
This year you’ve been re-visiting old hobbies and taking up
some new ones. You are back in TKD with
your brother doing a family class once a week.
You are working very hard at it and you say you enjoy it and want to
continue which is awesome. This in turn
makes Grant want to continue and not quit like he otherwise probably would have
by now. You are agreeable to trying
track and field and I found a laid-back program that starts in a few
weeks. I think you will really enjoy it as
you’ve always loved racing short distances and doing big jumps. We are headed to Colorado for spring break
(hopefully there will be snow) and I know you will leave Mommy in your dust and
start going on runs that I don’t even want to do. You realized you are pretty good at ice
skating because you roller blade around the cul-de-sac often and you expressed
interest in taking speed skating lessons in the future. Since team sports aren’t your thing, we are
having some fun trying to think of what other individual sports you may enjoy.
Your love for science is only deepening and you have
recently claimed you have learned everything you could about the dinosaur age
so now you are deep into reading books about the organisms and marine animals
that existed before the time of the dinosaurs.
Honestly, I don’t even understand the fancy scientific names you list
off, the evolution facts of each species of animals you know and it’s clear
that you the teacher and we are your students.
Your thirst for knowledge is just remarkable and I wish I had such a
passion to learn when I was a child. I
love how you learn things for yourself, not for a test and not to impress
others. When you talk about anything
science there is this excitement in your voice and sparkle in your eye that is
contagious and only makes me wonder what your future will bring. We just visited the Baltimore Aquarium and it
was hilarious watching random kids listen to you at each window of different
fish because you knew more information than the plaques provided most of the
time. You are enjoying an after school
program on “electronics and electricity” and got lots of good robotics for your
birthday that you can’t wait to get started on.
You have the greatest teacher this year, she is one of those
teachers everyone says you are going to remember for the rest of your
life. She recognizes all your strengths,
your intelligence, and works hard to accommodate your weaknesses at
school. She thinks you are funny and
awesome and doesn’t seem to mind the little extra work it takes to come up with
ways to get you to reach your potential in the classroom. It’s because of this teacher and your super
nice special education teacher, we decided last month now was the time to try
medication for your ADHD- Inattentive.
We promise Auden, it was not a decision we took lightly. We researched for months, I had sleepless
nights about it, and Daddy even followed the bus one day to watch you get off
of it because you seemed a little less like “Auden” one morning when you left after giving you medication. The scales were tipped at your annual IEP
meeting with your lovely teachers that sat there and said- we’ve realized that
Auden has no weaknesses or disabilities with the material or tasks in math or
writing, it is just that his lack of attention (daydreaming) is globally
effecting him in all these areas. They
said, at least we aren’t dealing with several issues, it is just one issue
affecting everything. Internally, that’s
when Daddy and I knew it was time. So,
how could we not see if ADHD medication could help you reach your full
potential in school? Of course, there is
a part of us that doesn’t want to medicate you just to fit the norm of what a
typical child looks like in classroom setting but we worry that at some point
your self-esteem will be affected.
You are one month into the medication and so far we are
getting pretty remarkable feedback from your teachers. You have more body awareness and calmness in
class, you require less prompts to transition to different activities, you are
completing your math classwork in record speed and not daydreaming between each
problem, you are coming up with ideas for your writing assignments faster than
ever. The math aide in your class did
not know you were on medication and on the 3rd day she told the
teachers how you were acting like a different child knocking out your math worksheets
without even looking up- she was floored.
We don’t have those kind of demands at home, so right now we just have
to trust your teachers that you are closer to reaching your potential at school
and are accessing more information than ever. They say you are proud of your work and all you are accomplishing which is awesome. The biggest negative is that it is taking you longer to go to sleep at
night, instead of reading for 1 hour, you are reading for 2 hours, ha. We are monitoring that but hopefully now that
it is getting nicer outside you can burn off more energy after school.
This year was a big year with gaining another sibling. It’s so funny that you seemed apprehensive before
I left for India yet you just fell into the role of having a little sister like
it was second nature. You are just the
best big brother. We would have never
considered having another child if the adjustment to having a brother was a
really tough one. But you and Grant are
like peanut butter and jelly. You are
opposite in almost every way yet you two go together perfectly. Grant says he loves you because you say “Hi”
excitedly to him every time you see him in the hallways and sometimes when your
recesses overlap you and your friends always play with him. It is the most fun watching you with Leena
when you don’t know anyone is looking. I
spied you helping her brush her teeth the other morning and it was the cutest
thing I ever saw. Our sink is so tall,
you had to lift her up every time she needed to spit and rinse. Watching you talk to her in a little bit of a
baby voice and lift her up as she giggled and put her arms up for you was the cutest. When we say you are in charge of her you take
it very seriously. Like the time on the
playground while I was watching Grant’s soccer team- other parents saw you come
out of the porta-potty with Leena and you said it was hard work holding her up
so she didn’t fall in. You were meant to
be a big brother. And you are a perfect
big brother in our unique family circumstance of having two younger siblings that
look nothing like you. That’s because some
of your best qualities are your big heart and not caring what others
think. Grant still relies on you to
explain why and how you are brothers to some kids that may ask at school. One day he will need gain his own voice but
for now he told me that he likes it when you say it. And you say it matter-of-factly, simple and
with a bit of “who cares/no big deal” that makes other kids just move on to another
topic of conversation. How amazing you
are Auden Henry.
The highlight of your year I'm sure was going to Disney World in January. My most special memory that I'll never forget is waiting for the "gates" to open so you and I could sprint to Space Mountain as fast as we could. It was the one ride I always wanted to do and you were the only kid in the family that was tall enough for it (and brave enough!). So, Daddy let me have this experience with you. It was as you would say "SO AWESOME" over and over and over again. The excitement waiting and the thrill on your face when it was over was something I'll always remember. It was a great start to an amazing day in the Magic Kingdom with the whole family.
The highlight of your year I'm sure was going to Disney World in January. My most special memory that I'll never forget is waiting for the "gates" to open so you and I could sprint to Space Mountain as fast as we could. It was the one ride I always wanted to do and you were the only kid in the family that was tall enough for it (and brave enough!). So, Daddy let me have this experience with you. It was as you would say "SO AWESOME" over and over and over again. The excitement waiting and the thrill on your face when it was over was something I'll always remember. It was a great start to an amazing day in the Magic Kingdom with the whole family.
We love you with all of our hearts and we can’t wait to see 8!!!
8TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW
- What is your favorite toy? Robotics and Legos
- What are your favorite books right now? The Phantom Tollbooth, Spirit Animal series, A to Z mysteries, Dogman Series, How to Eat Fried Worms, 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, any non fiction about animals and dinosaurs
- What is your favorite food? Pizza, corndogs
- What is your favorite thing to do/play outside? ride bikes, roller blade, play in woods
- What is your favorite show? Nature documentaries
- What is your favorite color? Green
- Who is your best friend? Thomas and Cole
- What do you want to be when you grow up? A Palenotologist
- What is your favorite sport? Skiing
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