Liam is Ten

Double digits. How did we get here? I'm not sure, but it's clear that Liam is growing up. He is straddling the two worlds of "I don't need you" and "Can you walk with me to the bathroom?".  He's also trying to deal with some big emotions which seem to be the only kinds of emotions he knows how to have. I know this will serve him well once he learns how to navigate them. For now, it feels a little like walking on egg shells. But when he loves, he loves BIG and he makes you feel like the most important person in the world. 

His friends are so important to him. He’s a social butterfly and he’s made friends here quickly, even though he misses his old ones terribly.  He started robotics club this year and has his first competition next month. He’s taking an extracurricular coding class before school once a week and will gladly inform you that he is farther along than anyone else in his lessons. 

He loves to read. Graphic novels are his favorite and if you want to make him happy, just tell him you are taking him to the library after school. 

His latest obsession is magic. We can’t remember how exactly he got into it, but you can almost always find him with cards in his hand. He’s into card and coin tricks and loves watching the work of Penn and Teller and Shin Lim. He has an Instagram account where he posts his tricks and has a lofty goal of getting a booth at one of the largest art festivals here to perform his magic. He attends magic club once a month at a tiny magic store just outside of Asheville where he sits for 3-4 hours trading secrets with mostly grown magicians that he looks up to. 

The boy has my heart. Sometimes I wonder if he knows it. But I love him more than I can describe. He’s not a baby anymore but he’ll always be my baby. 

1. What is your favorite color? neon pink
2. What is your favorite toy? deck of cards
3. What is your favorite fruit? apple with cinnamon
4. What is your favorite tv show? Troll Hunters
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? hummus pack with pretzels
6. What is your favorite outfit? basketball shorts and NASA sweater
7. What is your favorite game? Roblox
8. What is your favorite snack? any type of chips
9. What is your favorite animal? Road runner
10. What is your favorite song? Rolex by Ayo and Teo
11. What is your favorite book? Prisoner of War
12. Who is your best friend? Kai
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms 
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike
15. What is your favorite drink? Root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? a book
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Bacon and sausage
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hibachi
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Magician
21. What is your favorite movie? Rogue One until we see Last Jedi
22. What is your favorite football team? Saints and LSU

Livi is Seven

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? American Girl Doll
3. What is your favorite fruit? Kiwi
4. What is your favorite tv show? AntFarm
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Chicken nuggets
6. What is your favorite outfit? Shopkins jacket
7. What is your favorite game? Toca Boca town (iphone app)
8. What is your favorite snack? oranges
9. What is your favorite animal? zebra
10. What is your favorite song? Can't stop the feeling by Justin Timberlake
11. What is your favorite book? The Curious Garden
12. Who is your best friend? Luya
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the snow
15. What is your favorite drink? Lemonade
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Elly
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? banana ice cream
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cesar Salad
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? vet
21. What is your favorite movie? Trolls


Livi is fascinating to me. It's just so interesting how siblings can be so different from each other yet be such a perfect mix of their parents. It would be hard to find somewhere more different than Livi is from her brother. She doesn't need constant attention and approval. She is content with whatever is happening around her. She always finds something to do and generally looks on the bright side.

She's social in her own way. It might take her a bit to warm up to you but she's always looking to make a friend. If there is a little sister at any of Liams sporting events, Livi will find her and they will be best friends by the end of the night. But she does it by inching towards her and casually laying out her doll to gauge interest. Pretty soon, they'll be running around and giggling.

She gets distracted. A lot. Liam doesn't like to do chores but if there is a clear reward, he will burn through them. Livi might want that reward just as badly, but as she says "I just see my toys and they make me want to play with them!" Cleaning her room can take upwards of a couple hours. There is no ill intent. It's just the way she rolls. And I totally get it because I do the same thing.

She's smart in a completely different way from her big bro. He catches on to everything so quickly. He never had a problem with spelling from the beginning. He hears or reads something and than he knows it. Livi needs to touch and feel and experience to understand. She's a maker. She loves anything that involves mixing or experimenting or creating and as a result, she's more likely to come up with her own conclusions. She's said some pretty enlightening things in the past that usually catch me off guard.

She is probably the kindest one in the family. She doesn't like to see any of us upset. If Liam asks her for one of her candies and she says no, he will inevitably start to cry and she will inevitably give in to him. It's a trick he uses all too often.

She also likes to please people. Praise or recognition from her teachers mean the world to Livi. When she thinks I am genuinely disappointed in her, it crushes her. And than that crushes me. Chris thinks she looks up to me, but I just see her as a mini replica of myself. She's my bud.

Liam is nine

If I left it up to Liam, he would be on the computer or playing video games every waking hour. I've often said that he reminds me of my brother. They are so much alike except for the fact that Liam also loves sports. He will play any sport I put him in and is loving his newest endeavor, Tae Kwon Do. Like my brother, he enjoys games and SciFi/fantasy. He is obsessed with Pokemon and will take it any form (TV show, trading cards, video game, and even "fashion"). 

Understanding the similarities between Liam and my brother have helped me navigate parenting him. My brother is wicked smart and will admit that he doesn't like to work particularly hard and has to be "made" to participate in experiences outside of video games and board games. He will also admit that when he does participate he almost never regrets it. It's one of the reasons he is so thankful for his wife who loves to try new things and go to new places. This is my Liam. The difference is that he doesn't have the maturity to understand that when I want to do things outside of screen time as a family, I don't mean to ruin his life or make him upset. Pretty sure he equates any activity that he isn't thrilled with as a punishment or a secret vendetta that I must have against him. But usually, once he let's go of that and allows himself to enjoy his surroundings he has quite a nice time. Alot of me has been equating this behavior to a sense of entitlement and selfishness. But knowing that my brother behaved similarly and still turned out to be one of the kindest, most lovely humans I know has helped me to realize that this is just an area that Liam needs to grow in. I need to ignore the negative behavior and cut him a break once in a while. He's just a kid. Kids get upset when they don't get their way. It doesn't take away the fact that he is empathetic towards his younger cousins or still wants me to give him 10 kisses and 10 hugs every night at bedtime. 

I love him deeply and I know that he feels the same about me and his father and sister. He's becoming grown up and part of me can't wait for that maturity to set in, but another part of me yearns for him to stay a little boy dependent on his mama. 

1. What is your favorite color? neon pink
2. What is your favorite toy? Xbox
3. What is your favorite fruit? mango
4. What is your favorite tv show? Trollhunter
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pizza poppers
6. What is your favorite outfit? Pokemon shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Overwatch
8. What is your favorite snack? chips
9. What is your favorite animal? tiger
10. What is your favorite song? Immigrants from Hamilton Mixed Tape
11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter
12. Who is your best friend? Zeke, Daddy, Kai, Jude and Kama
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Go snowboarding or sledding if it's snowing, if it's not- play football with dad
15. What is your favorite drink? Ginger Ale and Root Beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Myself
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? banana ice cream
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Shrimp cocktail
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Football player
21. What is your favorite movie? Rogue One
22. What is your favorite football team? New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers