Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Greyden Roy at 7 Years Old

Hey there, our 7-year-old Greyden Roy! Also affectionately known as Grey, Grey Grey, and Roy Boy. But you prefer just "Greyden". :)


You are such a fun kid. I love 7-year-old you. You make us laugh so often. Last year I described you this way, and it still matches you to a T: "happy, joyful, goofy, excited, outgoing, determined, social, and energetic. You always look forward to every day, finding something in it that you expect to be fun or exciting. Every night during prayers you say, 'Dear God, thank you for today and thank you that it was so much fun...and please let us have a fun day tomorrow.' You cry easily when you have expectations and they aren't met, but you get over it quickly and are grinning again before long. Really, nothing keeps you down; you are always making lemonade out of lemons." That is still you, buddy. Our little lemonade maker.


You think basically everyone you know is your friend, no matter who they are. You crave socialization and will follow us and talk nonstop if we don't find something to distract you. Even with a tv show or game in front of you, half the time you'll still be talking to anyone within earshot, narrating what you're seeing on the screen.



If you're not talking, then you are often singing. You turn much of life into a song. Whether playing with a toy, coloring, cleaning, or just sitting around (or even on the toilet), you're often singing about something. Sometimes you sing a song you know, sometimes you just make something up. The overall reality though is that there is almost always noise coming out of your mouth. (As I type this, in fact, you are singing a new verse you made up for "Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo". And today I was on the phone with your daddy while you were near me and Daddy said, "What is that sound??" And I said, "Oh, that? That's Greyden singing." Daddy said, "What is he singing??" and I said, "I have no idea.")


Shockingly, this characteristic of yours to be always making noise has not carried over into school. In fact your teacher says you do great with staying quiet and following instructions. This surprises me, but I'm very glad. :) You actually truly enjoy going to school, and you're doing well in all your subjects. In fact, as I write this, you are on trackout and yet you are at the table doing some optional worksheets from school for fun. You still say that recess and PE are your favorite parts of school, but you seem to enjoy the challenge of learning and schoolwork as well.


You are still right around average for height, weight, and BMI. Your eyes usually still look brown but can appear hazel if the light hits them right. Your hair continues to shift from light brown in the winter to blonde in the summer, then back again. You are a full-fledged lefty and also prefer to use your left foot to kick. You lost your two middle bottom teeth over the last year and just recently lost your first top tooth, which has really changed your smile. I took your 7-year-old pictures for this blog post before you lost it, though, so you won't see the gap in these pictures. :)


You have switched from singing in Glee Club to doing individual voice lessons, which you love. You still are reluctant to sing in front of people, which is a bit of a bummer, but I've been told that you'll develop confidence for it over time. You also are still doing piano lessons and are moving along pretty quickly with those. Soccer is your favorite extra-curricular activity and I'm pretty sure you'd go to a practice every night if it were an option. You played up in the U10 league this past fall season and did really well, even scoring quite a few goals. It's so fun to watch you grow in confidence and skill.


But it's not just soccer. You are obsessed with all sports - watching them, playing them, practicing them. You frequently kick a ball around the house or have a football in your arms. And you know basically every team in football and will look up game schedules and scores on a regular basis. You play soccer in the spring and fall, basketball in the winter, and do swim team in the summer. And in any sport you're playing, whether on a team or in the backyard with a friend, you give it your all. Because, apparently, sports are very important!


Your favorite toys and activities right now are Pokemon cards and (again) sports, with some Bey Blades, Hot Wheels, and Nerf guns thrown in. You still love the iPad, Wii, and X-box. Lately we've been playing Super Mario Bros on the Wii together as a family, and you and Krew think it's great.


You are still a distractible little guy, although it's not as bad as it used to be. For example, we no longer find you in the bathroom with your hands under running water because you forgot you were washing them. And you now manage to focus enough when eating lunch at school that you usually (but not always) get to eat your dessert before you run out of time. But you definitely have some "SQUIRREL!" Syndrome tendencies. We still have to remind you to keep eating at the dinner table at home or to keep doing a chore if we've asked you to do something for us. I think sports are about the only activity where there's not a chance you'll be pulled away. Somehow, this distractibility hasn't been an issue at school so far. You seem to save it all for home. :)


You and Krew are really getting along pretty well right now, and we are so thankful. You two will play and play, with only occasional fights or disagreements. The only thing I've noticed is that you've started getting a little more rude and mouthy with each other, telling each other when you think what the other has done is wrong. But otherwise I'm incredibly grateful for your relationship right now and how healthy and complementary it seems to be.


We changed GI doctors shortly after I wrote your 6-year-old blog post last year. At that time, you had been having EoE symptoms for about 9 months and we couldn't get them to stop. Under guidance of the new GI doctor, we changed your medication, doubled your dose, and did 9 months of waiting and two endoscopies before we finally got you healed. At your last scope the end of August this year, your esophagus finally looked good and you were symptom-free. We were sooooooooo relieved!! Afterward we decided to reintroduce rice, so you've been eating that for the last two months and you've loved it. You have another scope in two weeks (your 14th one), on December 4th, to find out if the rice appears to be an EoE trigger for you. We are praying that it is not, because it has made your diet so much easier to be able to eat it. If you are able to continue eating rice, then your list of food restrictions will be dwindled down to gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, beef, pork, and green beans. (That probably sounds like a long list to many people, but compared to where we started, it's fairly short!) As for your cyclic vomiting syndrome, I don't think you've had any episodes since I wrote your 6-year-old blog post, which is also so wonderful! Over a year episode-free - wow.


Just over the past month or so, I've noticed you've finally stopped coming out of your room every night after we put you to bed. Prior to that, it was still a nightly occurrence. Sometimes you'd come out even two or three times. I'm really not sure what's happened or what the difference is. We did not set down any new rules or give you extra discipline. Maybe it's something you've just grown out of? Maybe we've been getting you to bed so late lately that you actually fall asleep when you lay down. (You typically don't fall asleep until at least 10pm, and you've had a lot of bedtimes between 9pm and 10pm lately.) Or maybe it's just a phase and your nightly reemergences will start up again soon. :)


And, speaking of bedtime, you still do the same thing you were doing last year when I wrote your 6-year-old blog post. You always hug me tight around the neck, wait for me to kiss your cheek, then turn your little face and put a kiss in the center of my cheek. Every. Single. Night. It always floods my heart with warmth and happiness.


Alright Roy Boy, I think that's all for now. We sure do love you!!

Love,
Mommy (and Daddy)

Monday, August 12, 2019

Greyden Roy: 7-Year-Old Interview

Our Greyden Roy is now 7 years old as of July 28th!! (I seriously can't believe he's this old.)

We had the usual multiple mini birthday celebrations with various family and friends, and he was thrilled to receive some great gifts including an abundance of Pokemon cards and related items. I'm planning to do his 7-year-old photo shoot this weekend and will post those pics and a detailed update on him once I get the pics edited. :)

For now, below is his 7-year-old interview. And because I always think it's fun to compare, I've posted his past years' videos below, also. :)

Enjoy!








Monday, June 3, 2019

Krewson Lee at 9 Years Old

Dearest Krewson Lee,

We are now well into your year of being 9 years old! You turned 9 nearly three months ago, but I am learning to be ok with getting these yearly updates completed months after your birthdays. I figure, at least I'm actually doing them at all, right? :)


We sure love you, buddy. You bring such depth and feelings to our lives. You continue to be our introverted, sensitive, and introspective child. You react to everything around you with emotion and as a result remind us of the deeper parts of life.


You continue to be smaller for your age (19th percentile for height this year). You still have your longish blonde hair (which you are very attached to) and gray-blue eyes. At your wellness doc visit this year, your eyesight was not as perfect as it's always been, but the doctor said you can probably wait another year before needing glasses. (You did not like this news about future glasses one iota.) You've lost eight teeth so far and I'm relieved that they're coming in pretty straight (although with a large adorable gap between the front two).


Your absolute favorite pastime (other than screen time, which I'm pretty sure is every kid's favorite) is reading. You read, read, read, read. Your current obsession is middle-grade fantasy. It is not uncommon for you to read an entire novel or more in a single day (especially on the weekends or when tracked out of school). You go through series so quickly that we've resorted to going to the library and walking up and down the middle grade aisles to find new books for you, because I've run out of recommendations from others.


Another favorite activity is ninja warrior obstacle climbing and jumping, so we may get you involved with that more in the fall at a local ninja warrior gym. Your daddy built you and your brother a small ninja-warrior-type gym in your playroom for Christmas this year, and you two have had a blast in there. Right now you are being kept busy with soccer and swim team. Despite having a decent amount of natural ability, soccer is not your favorite due to the unpredictability of whether you're about to get a kick to the shins or a ball to the face. Therefore, you don't do a whole lot of actual playing on the field. However, you keep requesting to do soccer because you love seeing your friends on the team. You seem ok with swim team (and actually are a very good swimmer!) as long as the water or air are not too cold. If you feel cold then you become quickly discouraged.


You are still taking piano lessons, although the daily practicing at home is a frequent point of tension between you and me. You do NOT like making mistakes, and making mistakes is part of learning to play. So we frequently hit stand offs during our practice sessions after you've struggled with a certain piece of music. You will say that it is too hard and you cannot do it, and then you will refuse to play again despite all my prodding and encouragement. On the other hand, if you decide you like a certain piece of music, you will go to the piano and play for 30 minutes straight all on your own, frequently adding to the music with your own improvisations. The way you seem to "feel" the music as you're playing has brought tears to my eyes as I've watched you. I hope we can continue to get through practicing and lessons so that you can continue to have music as an outlet in the future.


Your favorite school subject seems to be science. You love learning about the world and have hundreds of facts memorized, which you'll share whenever the opportunity arises. You do well in all your school subjects, but you really do not like writing. You also get frustrated in math because you can get the right answers but cannot always understand the ways the teachers want you to get to the answer (unfortunately that's Common Core for ya).


You still love building and designing, and you make frequent Lego creations or other creations out of supplies you find around the house. You also love taking apart electronics and figuring out how they work. You have a large bin in the garage full of electronic parts that you play around with on a regular basis.



You are still cautious, careful, and responsible, always following the rules and watching out for your safety and the safety of everyone around you. If something seems unsafe, you will basically refuse to do it.


You are still very emotional and can switch from hyper-joyful to devastated crying in a split second. You feel everything so incredibly deeply, and anxiety and frequent bouts of depression have become a regular part of your life. After implementing diet changes last spring, we saw incredible improvements, but the last few months have been a struggle again. You are also incredibly hard on yourself and very upset whenever you feel that you've done something wrong or are incapable of doing something the way you think is best. So we are doing all we can to help you at home, and you've also begun seeing a new talk/play therapist. You've only had a few session so far, but I am feeling hopeful because you seem a little more relaxed and a bit more able to handle yourself after each session.


Although you are most commonly quiet and subdued, you also have a very goofy, wisecracking, sarcastic side that can surprise people. You love to crack jokes and make people laugh, but you save that side of yourself for those you feel safest with. When that side of you does come out, you can even get a little bit hyper-crazy.



You don't like crowds or being the center of attention, but you absolutely love your close friends and are happiest with you're with them. You are also incredibly dedicated to your family and become broken-hearted when one of us is away from home for very long. Although I don't know you'd say so, I think your brother is your best friend. You boys get along amazingly well for how different you are from one another, and you can sometimes play all day long without even a little fight. You do have your squabbles and disagreements, but for the most part you support each other and love each other very well.


We are so thankful for you, buddy! We love you so much. Until next year. :)

Love,
Mommy

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Krewson Lee: 9-Year-Old Interview

Krew turned 9 years old on March 5th. What! Last year being a single digit!!

Here is his yearly interview. This year it just so happened that I captured many of his personality quirks and how he responds to and handles life. It makes me so happy to watch this video. It's very Krew-y. :)

Past years' interviews are below, too, if you'd like to compare and see how he's changed. :)

We love you Krew!!

Age 9:



Age 8:



Age 7:





Age 6:


Age 5:


Age 4: