dear tyson...

Dear Tyson,

Oh, buddy, you are my heart and soul.  I can't imagine not having you in my life.  Such a breath of fresh air you are.  You tell it like it is, so brutally honest at times but I am learning to appreciate that about you.  You are intelligent and have a case for and against anything and everything.  You challenge me daily and I am thankful that God uses you, my sweet boy, to grow me.

You read a lot and are really good at it but for whatever reason try to act cool about it, like it's not one of your favorite things.  You claim math as your first and only love at school.  Math comes so natural to you just like your Daddy.

Your favorite friend is Austin and it's pretty convenient since he is a neighbor.  You love spending time with him and you all are good at having fun doing just about anything.

You love to play video games of just about any kind so our 20 minute a day time limit really cramps your style.  You often ask to read to earn a few more minutes of screen time.  Currently, you are enjoying minecraft quite a bit on the iPad but your favorites change often so who knows what it will be next week.

You used birthday money to buy rollerblades and it was amazing how quickly you picked up the skill.  You are super good on those things know and you practice almost daily.  Mia got some for your birthday so it's sweet to watch you both learn and ride together.

You still say that your favorite thing to do is anything with Daddy.  You are his boy.  You love to ride your bike alongside him as he runs.  It's awesome because you have serious endurance so you can hang right with him however long his run may be.

You continue to be our earliest riser...unless you have lost screen time for some reason, your body knows to sleep in a bit.

You are awesome.  Your special teachers at school were so impressed with how friendly and kind you are.  You were always asking them how they're doing and they really appreciated it and they let me know that.  We're so proud of you and love that you share God's love in this way.

Happy 9th Birthday little buddy.  Now just try to slow down this growing up thing a little bit, will ya?

Buddy, I love you way more than you love me.  And I always will.

Love forever,
Mommy
xoxo

tyson turns 9

Our little summer boy turned nine which is completely mind-blowing.  We sure did have fun celebrating him and his awesomeness.

He sported his new Curry shirt and a fresh new fade on his special day.  He is the cutest. 

He is not a cake, ice cream, or cookies kind of guy so it's always donuts for him.

The kids always do special things for each other on their birthdays and it makes my heart feel like it could explode every time.  Sometimes they use their own money and purchase something and sometimes they use their creativity to make something special.  It's awesome.

Little buddy got a full sized basketball that he was pretty pumped about.

And a large new Nerf gun which would be the reason for the sea of nerf darts covering our floor.

We decided just a few days before his birthday to go camping that evening because it is something he loves to do.  We tried a new campground pretty close to home and had all kinds of adventures and fun.  

Several days later, he had a birthday sleepover with two friends and while they did not sleep much, they sure had a lot of fun.  They had nerf wars, played wii, ate hamburgers and hot dogs, donuts for breakfast, and played some basketball.  

Another fun birthday in the books and he claimed it was the best one yet.

basketball season

Tyson played his second year of Upward basketball and had such a great season.  His coaches were awesome and he had a blast.  

We had so much fun watching him and I did not ever want the season to end.  He had the game of his life when our friends, Darin & Emilee came to watch where he scored 22 points.  He was totally on fire.  While he didn't score that many points in any other game, he played well and really worked hard.

He couldn't help but think he was a stud after that big point game and wanted to make sure everyone knew exactly how much he had scored.  He had plenty of friends and family come cheer him on which he loves and seems to play better when they do.  

He continues to say basketball is his favorite sport so we'll see if that changes at some point.  I sure hope it doesn't because it's definitely mine.

first day of kindergarten, second, and fifth grade

Sending them to school this year felt harder than ever for several reasons.  One being that we had the most amazing summer.  Two being that Mia was starting kindergarten.  Three being that we were moving 2 short days after school began and we knew chaos would come along with the move.  

The kids were all so excited.  Tyson's favorite day of school is the first day and after that, he is kind of over it but Avery gets crazy excited each year and loves it everyday.  Mia had been counting down the days until she was a big girl in school so she could not wait for it to actually happen.

It was a rude awakening that morning to actually have to wake up to an alarm clock and get everyone ready for the day.  Whew.  They all have tired eyes in these sweet photos.  Serious tans and tired eyes.  Both signs of a beautiful summer.

Avery's teacher team this year is awesome and we could tell from our first meeting with them.

After the first drop off of the day, everyone was in good spirits.

And then we moved on to the second drop off.  Our big second grader.

We loved his teacher right away too.  She has a great laugh and gives hugs.  My kind of girl.

The girls, especially Violet was not excited to see her bubba go.

We had some time in before dropping Mia off since she is in morning kindergarten.  She was more than happy to let me take one million pictures of her because she was proud and excited.

She was sporting french braids since Mommy finally learned how to do them and her newly pierced ears with pink hearts.

She was so excited to be wearing a special school dress designed by Mommy and sewn especially for her by Grandma.

Seriously, I cannot even put her excitement into words.  It was precious.  She reminded me so much of Avery when it was time for her to start kindergarten.  I love their enthusiasm for school.

And then it was finally time for Mia to go to school.  I cried like a baby as we walked out and her teacher hugged me and handed me some tissues.  It physically hurts me to leave them at school each year...but especially that first year.  It's rough.

Oh, how proud we are of our babies and how thankful we are for incredible teachers that become part of our "village" and build into them in so many ways.  Summer will always be my favorite though.

dear tyson

Dear Tyson, 

I have you in my mind stuck at 6 years old.  I am not sure how long that will last but the fact that you have turned 8 years old does not even make sense.  

Oh little buddy, my one and only precious boy, you still know how to make me feel like a million bucks with your sweet comments and love for your momma.  You just have a way about you that melts hearts and it is so much more than those big brown eyes.

One of the many things I love about you is how you look people in the eye and ask them how they are.  I watch the teachers on drop off duty at school in the morning light up as you say good morning to them.  You're always telling people to have a great day and other sweet sentiments and I think it makes way more of a difference than we even realize. 

You love our new neighbor friend, Austin.  He is your buddy and you can't get enough of each other.  I am so happy that you finally have a boy your age around to play with.  You like to trade Pokemon cards with friends, you love riding the bus home even though I really wish you didn't have to, you love playing basketball, riding your bike, and making up beats on play drums in the basement.  

You are such a bright little guy.  I made you read a lot over the summer before you could have any screen time and it worked out for both of us because you started off second grade reading well above grade average.  You freak us out sometimes with your ability to comprehend anything that you read or is read to you.  You don't miss a beat.  It's awesome.  Your reading level continues to go up and you excel in math as well.  Spelling is the only thing that troubles you at school.  I study with you like crazy each week but it just does not stick.  You get so frustrated and I know it will pass but I feel bad and wish I could snap my fingers and have it all make sense to you.  You are learning that some things don't come easy and you have to work hard to make them happen.  

In this season of your young life, you don't like to be alone.  You constantly want someone to play with you and just be by you.  It's sweet and exhausting.  We are constantly reminding you how much fun playing by yourself can be but you just don't buy it.

You are a confident, full of energy and life kind of guy.  You love your family with all your heart and seem to have finally accepted the role God gave you as an only brother with 3 sisters.  We did try to give you a brother but we got our Violet instead.  Watching the two of you together lets me know with certainty that you wouldn't give her up for all the brothers in the world.  Good thing God's plans are always so much better than our own.

You are a precious soul Tyson Carter and we are extremely proud to be your parents.

And you know that I love you to the moon and back a billion gazillion times infinity.

Happy 8th Birthday, my boy.
Mommy

xoxo  

tyson turned 8

Tyson's birthday fell during our vacation this year and he did not mind that one little bit.  Who wouldn't want to have their birthday at the beach?  He woke up to donuts that morning and got to blow out a candle first thing.

It doesn't make any sense to me that he is already 8 years old.

We moved to the balcony for presents after donuts.

He really wanted a basketball so he was a bit excited.

And then we got his fund started for an outdoor basketball hoop he had been dreaming about for the new house.

We spent his special day at the beach and pool and then walked to our favorite vacation restaurant.  It just can't get too much better than that.

Once we were home from vacation, he got his Mommy/Daddy birthday date.  We took him to eat and then he got to really try out his new basketball.

Basically, he had "the best birthday ever" which he told us that multiple times.  Love this boy.