Ren is 12!

 Ren is 12! Last year before we hit our teenager era.

At 12...

-Ren is hilarious, creative, kind, smart, clever, chaotic, crazy and wonderful.

-Ren is SO creative, in many ways but definitely as an artist. He loves drawing and his style continues to evolve. He likes to draw series of small things (weapons, people with superpowers, food), as well as muscular dudes and weapons. He has taught himself how to use Procreate on the iPad and he's incredibly adept. He knows how to do so many things that I have no idea about or HOW he even figured out. He even made a game on procreate where he drew lots oof different car parts and he asks people to choose a body style, a color, a window color, a type of tires, etc. then he puts alll your choices into a finished car.

-Ren also uses building as a creative outlet. For the last several birthdays and Christmases, we have bought him cardboard, string, foam, dowel rods, etc., so he has building supplies. He builds many things. He has built a Harry Potter flying on a broom for me, a city scene with superheroes, multiple little action. figures, all kinds of things. Most recently he build Hogwarts in miniature and the Office floor plan + characters. Sometimes I yell down the stairs "Ren! What are you doing?" He yells back "Hot glue!"

-we found out this fall that Ren is dyslexic and has ADHD. I had wondered about this for awhile and finally decided to have him tested after talking to several other moms at his school who have dyslexic kiddos. Both Sutton's best friend and one of Ren's best friends are dyslexic, so that majorly helped us with learning how to navigate it all. It also made it not be a negative thing for Ren. He enjoyed the testing process (we had an amazing grandmotherly woman who also has dyslexia and ADHD test him and she was amazing AND was amazed by him...keeping a comic he drew during his downtime while I was visiting privately with her, keeping it to use as an example with some of her future kids), and he wasalmost happy.about the diagnosis. Probably because his friend has. it and also it was an explanation for why things are a bit more difficult for him sometimes. We met with the school and made an IEP and he also started Alphabetic Phonics (AP) with a tutor -  Mrs. Kelly - who he LOVES. She is so so so so so good with him. She has ADHD and just gets him and is impressed by him and it makes me so so happy and emotional. I'm just glad this whole thing has been best case scenario. Also, one of the 3 boys he invited over for his birthday was a friend named Peter, who he made through being in AP together!

-Ren's dyslexia seems to be mixing up words more than letters. He's actually decent at reading, but he mixes up words or doesn't read all the words, so he still prefers that I read to him.

                           

                           

-this year Ren transitioned to middle school. It was quite the struggle for us both! I felt like I was literally in the 6th grade for the first semester. I was checking Google Classroom religiously, standing at the doors of his school when he got out, asking if he had things for all the specific assignments and tests, and going with hm back to his locker if necessary. I did all his math homework with him. We were doing hours of homework every night and he barely had time to do anything else. It was so much and so stressful and other parents were NOT having the same experience. This is what led me to get him tested. Once we had some answers, we talked to administration and they told. us his schedule was actually a LOT. So we had him drop Latin and add the AP each day. He already had a study hall and sometimes AP just ends up being a study hall, so he often gets all of his homework done at school, which is SUCH a breath of fresh air. I can't even begin to explain. We have struggled with one particular teacher who gives way too much homework and isn't very accommodating, but that has been a learning experience for us all -  when to speak up, when to put your head down and persevere. Adam and I are more frustrated with her than Ren is, which is definitely a good thing. His problem has never been smarts, he's very smart. It has been organization, time management, taking the correct things to the correct class (his first year switching classrooms each hour!), and staying motivated to finish things. The study halls have helped and we have been using video game time as an incentive (all work must be turned in on time and homework must be finished before he can play), and that is very motivating to him. It feels SO good to have overcome that major hurdle.

                         

-Ren inherited some hand me down AirPods this fall and now sometimes he just wants to put his music on and shut himself in his room to finish his homework (or to draw), instead of asking me to help or to scribe (part of his IEP), which was what was always happening in the past.

-after moving schools at Christmas last school year,  Ren was slower to make friends. He had some acquaintances for sure but nothing super close. He made a friend this year, Ledger, who has the exact same birthday as he does! After. talking with his mom, we realized they were literally born 4 minutes apart. How crazy. They were really really close all of first semester but there have been some little things that have happened this semester that have tested the friendship a bit. They are still close, but Ren has begun getting closer to another boy who was new at his school this year - Aquiles. Small world in that we realized Adam went to church with Aquiles' stepdad when they were in high school. Ren had his first sleepover this fall at Ledger's, and then his first at our house last week when Aquiles stayed overnight for Ren's birthday.

-Ren continues to be a sugar addict. That's all he would eat if it was up to him. Sugar and cheese. Top faves are Mac n cheese, cheese pizza, Cocoa Pebbles, cheese balls, cookies, cake, ice cream, root beer, chocolate milk, anything chocolate. He chose Doc Green's Mac n cheese for his birthday dinner and asked me to make a brookie (brownie + chocolate chip cookie) for his party.

                               

-he had been asking me to watch the Office because he heard us referencing, saw memes, and heard others talking about it. Not perfectly appropriate but we watched it all this fall and he LOVED it. He still talks about it all the time. Once it was over, I asked if he wanted to try Gilmore girls since that is one of my other favorite shows. He was tentative but agreed and now he loves it too. He also got video games taken away for awhile this fall and so he started watching all the Pixar + kids movies over again. 

-Ren's activity of choice is VR...he connects with his friends and plays as much as we let him. We've been majorly limiting time during the week and trying to not let him ONLY do that on the weekends. But it's definitely his favorite thing to do.

-we went skiing over Christmas break this year, the boys' second time skiing. Ren took to it so well! He wanted to go fast all the time. I was definitely the slowest/most tentative out of our family. He's still not sporty, but we have found that that is because he hates competition, not because he doesn't like doing the activity. We also got electric bikes this year and we love going on family bike rides, he especially loves it.

-Ren loves random facts. He whips them out at random times and I love it. At first, I would always fact check him because I was like - how does he know this? But he was always correct so now I just trust what he says is true. He also likes weird little things like - why do we bake cookies but cook bacon? Why is it called a building if it's already built? If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, no one would know.

-one little thing he and I do is - I save reels on my phone that I think he would enjoy as I'm scrolling. Then periodically he will come up to me and ask "Do you have any saved reels?" and we will sit and go through them all. Luckily we have similar humor and both love animals!

-Ren got braces this past June and it was pretty traumatic. We originally had it scheduled the November before and he was so worried about it that we rescheduled it to February right after his 10th birthday. He started telling me that he was dreading his birthday because he knew once it was over, he'd have to get braces. So I postponed it to June and didn't tell him when it would be. The morning of, I woke him up and told him and he was SO upset. I couldn't decide if I'd done the right thing. I made Adam come along, and once we got to the orthodontist's parking lot, I went inside to start paperwork while Adam had a talk with Ren in the car. He explained how I had had SO MUCH anxiety leading up to this appointment because I knew Ren would be nervous and how I had lost sleep about it and worried about it instead of him having to do the worrying. He was less mad at me after that, but during the actual procedure, both Adam and I were holding onto him, trying to soothe him because he was not doing well. Adam ended up with an arm across his entire body and holding his other hand while Ren squirmed. We even had to take breaks because he wasn't holding still enough for the tech to do the work. Ever since the first appointment though, things have been a breeze and he does really well with it all. But man, tough experience for all of us.

                          

-Ren definitely hit puberty this past year! He's the same height as me, his voice dropped, and he has a few blondie hairs on his upper lip. We are also dealing with BO. I feel like his body matured before his mind, and I love that we still see a lot of little kid in him...he'll randomly play outside, he still pretends all the time in his head, and his interests still seem like young kid interests. On the bad side, Sutton seems the opposite, so their age gap seems more pronounced right now than ever before.

-we had a lot of sleeping issues last year and into this year with him. We have overcome a lot of that! He still struggles with falling asleep, so he takes melatonin. His anxiety comes out as he's trying to fall asleep and he has lots of negative thoughts, which I can totally relate to. But he stays in his bed 98% of the time now, which is an exact opposite of where we were at this time last year. He's still always the first one up on Saturdays, but sometimes will sleep into the 8am hour. We pushed his bedtime back this fall also, from 8pm to 9pm, which probably has been a helping factor that we should've done earlier.

And the birthday video. This was the first year he didn't want to film the video and...you can tell.

Sutton is 15!

Sutton is 15?! Do we all remember how I started this blog before he was even conceived? This is mind-blowing, but moving on...

At 15...

Sutton is the most kind, inclusive, intelligent, emotionally intelligent, gentle, funniest 15-year-old I know. We have seen a LOT of maturity this year and it feels as if he's bridging the gap from being my helpless child to being my capable buddy. We genuinely enjoy spending time with him and he always has us laughing. This was a beautiful transition that I didn't think much about, that feels like a gift after the trenches of the younger years.

We are in the throes of teenager-ness but the other day, he told us "You know, I'm really making an effort to not become a stereotypical moody teenager," so at least we have that going for us.

Sutton is always hungry. They say teenage boys are bottomless pits and....yeah. Top tier: McDonald's #4b with no pickle but add cheese and extra sauce with a large Powerade. Also top tier: Lipton Green tea with Citrus and Flaming Hot Cheetos. Secondary: Arnold Palmer and blue Powerade, Totino's Party Pizzas, salt and vinegar chips, honeybuns, chips and salsa, red Doritos, microwave popcorn, Tony's chocolate, fruit snacks.

Sutton is very extroverted. He is always at ease in social situations and makes friends easily. We transitioned to a new school this year after Christmas break, and he already has a new bestie there. One of his friends even made the comment to him that he is just confident and assured, totally comfortable with himself even though he was the new kid. I loved hearing that.

Speaking of the new school, that has been quite the life change! We moved them after Christmas, getting them out of a not-so-great school and into a wonderful one. It has been awesome and Sutton will get to play high school soccer there, which would not have been an option at our old school.

Sutton loves to sleep in. I think the latest this summer was in the 11am hour, but more normal is 9-10am during the summer.

We got our braces off this past year (yay!) and got our first girlfriend! That lasted from October 2024-March 2025 before they broke up.

He tried a new sport at his new school this past year - track! He ended up mostly doing the 100, 200, relays, and sometimes long jump. He enjoyed the social aspect of it, but won't do it again. Even though his relay team set a school record!

Sutton spends most of his time downstairs in the basement on his computer. He plays video games, does homework, talks on the phone/FaceTime with friends. But he's so good about coming upstairs to hang out with us if we have been apart for awhile. He's also great about going across the front yard to visit his grandparents often.

He has entered the phase where he cares about his hair and how he looks in photos. He hates all photos of himself but he just has to deal with it since I'm his mom. He's aa pretty good sport.

Sutton has gotten a bit political, and also is into apologetics and theology. He watches videos alll the time about these things and is often telling me things I didn't know. He leans a bit more conservative than his dad and I, but we have great conversations talking about it all and seeing different perspectives RESPECTFULLY, which is a huge thing to learn in our current climate.

Sutton's a very nostalgic kid and he even recognizes it. It's hard for him to get rid of anything if there's a memory attached. And he seems to remember everything. He even haas a piece of paper that he's written the year (on New Year's Day) and his age (on his birthday), and it's VIP and has to be kept for all of time. He also loves to reminisce about things from his childhood...pets, shows and movies, books, vacations. 

Sutton his still the best ever big brother. I can't even explain. They still nitpick at each other over dumb things, but they are both considerate of each other and generally get along (now...aafter years of driving me crazy with their arguing). They have such different personalities but I think it helps them each see wider perspectives on things.

Sutton is still a huge animal lover. He has such aa soft spot for all animals, but cats and dogs are at the top. I love this about both of my kids!

There are so many more things I could say about Sutton because he is truly a remarkable, smart, capable, brilliant, clever, analytical, wonderful human being, and I am so incredibly proud to be his mom!

                           

Here's the Birthday video, with extra special guest - Pandora!

Ren is 11!

Ren is 11! 

(We didn't get these photos taken til a month after his birthday, but the upside to that is that it was starting to be a little green outside!)

At 11 years old...

-Ren still walks to the beat of his own drum! He is creative, inquisitive, stubborn, imaginative, clever, hilarious, and he focuses on the most unusual things. Things that would matter to me do not matter to him, and vice versa! It's always interesting to see what he fixates on or shows interest in. He's always thinking of creative ways to do things.

-We transferred the boys to a new school this semester. In January, they started at Trinity Academy. Ren is in 5th grade there, and Mrs. Truby is his teacher. She is amazing and perfect for him! They have a big dog in their classroom every day - Harley Sue. She just wanders around for pets and love, and she even rides the bus when they go to the high school for band! There's also an axolotl named Ezra in their class, which Ren enjoys updating me on Ezra's eating habits (or lack thereof). The classroom doesn't have traditional desks, but bunkbeds, poufs, couches, and other types of seating. It's bit messy/chaotic in there (just like Ren), and Mrs. Truby haas a collection of Lego minifigs. She also is so tech savvy, with 3D printers, drones, and green screens for the kids to learn and use.

-Ren is our introvert, so he has had a harder time with the new school than Sutton. My consensus is that he loves the school, his teacher, the learning methods, but he's sad still about leaving his old friends. He doesn't automatically put himself out there to make new friends, so we are hoping that is still yet to come.

-Ren started playing the trumpet at the beginning of the school year. It didn't come naturally to him, but we have been working harder the past month at home and he has made a lot of progress.

-Outside of school, Ren enjoys hiking, Roblox + Minecraft, playing outside, Legos, filming YouTube videos, and drawing/animating on the iPad.

-He is so talented at drawing and animating on the iPad! It blows me away. He taught himself to use Procreate and loves to sit and draw while I read to him.

(Luna is our oldest cat and always finds us every.single.time we're outside and has to insert herself into all photo sessions.)

The following was Ren's posing idea:

Luna started licking his toes:

-We tried reading the Harry Potter books a couple years ago, and Ren lost interest halfway through the 4th book. I decided to try again after we read through a couple of other series. He is OBSESSED and it makes me so happy! Both my boys now love Harry Potter like their momma. Several times a day, I hear, "Mom, will you read to me?" So we sit on the couch and I read while he draws. Love these times with him!

-One big thing we have been battling with Ren this year is his sleeping issues. He started having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep toward the end of last summer. He had been sleeping downstairs near Sutton's room a lot, and when we made him come back to his bedroom to sleep when it was getting close to school starting, he just couldn't transition. He has a lot of anxiety and negative thoughts, and they are always worse at night. Coupled with the fact that his room isn't close to anyone else's...it has been a struggle. We started a bedtime routine starting about 30 minutes before bedtime, involving melatonin and me reading to him (which is how all the reading started - we read the Millie Maven series first). Then at bedtime, we check on him every 15 minutes until he's asleep. I think he finds comfort in knowing one of us is nearby while he's trying to fall asleep. He used to come up to our bedroom every night halfway through the night and sleep on our couch, but we have luckily gotten past that. Adam sleeps down near him on a makeshift bed probably 3 nights per week, and Ren still takes his bedding down to sleep near Sutton on the weekends. We are hoping he grows out of this at some point, but have also realized that he will most likely just never sleep as much as Sutton or the rest of us.

Sutton wasn't super excited to be taking these, but he did it for me, so we're excusing his weird teenager smile:

-Some of Ren's favorite shows to watch are Gravity Falls, Milo Murphy's Law, and he loves all the animated movies like Garfield, Trolls, Sonic, Minions, Ice Age, etc.

-Ren definitely seems more on the immature side for his age, and we also think he likely has ADD in some capacity. Not the hyperactive piece, but the struggle-to-focus piece. He's very disorganized, is constantly losing or misplacing things, and forgets things or forgets what he is doing very easily. Luckily his new teachers recognize this, but also recognize his strengths and uniqueness...they seem to really SEE him and are trying to help with these issues at school, but it is a process.

-Ren got a bearded dragon two Christmases ago. His name was Journey. Ren LOVED him. He suddenly passed away in July and Ren was devastated, so we got him a new one and he named her Toast. Ren LOVES Toast. He calls her his daughter (and my granddaughter). He thinks she is the cutest ever and does a really great job with the responsibility of caring for her. He is excited to be doing a research project about bearded dragons for school this semester. Here is the carrier that Papa Ed and Grandma Janet got him for Toast for Christmas:

-Ren's favorite meals at home are Mac n cheese, and bean + cheese burritos. He loves Yoohoo and ice cream. He loves blue raspberry slushes, SunChips (harvest cheddar), Ritz cheese sandwich crackers, and anything else sweet, chocolate, or snacky. He would survive on snacks alone if it were up to him.

-Ren's favorite restaurant is still Doc Greens because of their Mac n cheese. He also likes the Mac at Chick-fil-a and Panera. He loves bean burritos from Taco Shop.

Our neighbors' animals were curious about why we were in the woods, so we went to say hi. Bailey the horse was very interested in Toast, and Saint the goat was just there to say hi:

Ren was excited that this photo had 4 animals in it, Luna, Toast, Bailey, Saint:

-While Sutton lives in shorts, Ren prefers pants and layering shirts. Sometimes he will wear two shirts that both have hoods. Or two that both have collars. I just let him, it's who he is. :)

-Ren enjoys cozy spaces/vibes. For his birthday, Adam made him a whole area in the basement that is just for him. There's a tent with pillows, a crafting desk, a Lego table, and storage + lights under the stairs. He loves spending time in there. We also set up a table with his computer for homework, and he likes having that space that is HIS too. 

Smokey came and found us in the woods too. He is the only cat we currently have that we let inside. He is so snuggly and purrs an insane amount. He's a really great kitty!

-He still doesn't like sports. He is able to now tell us that it's because he hates competition, which I totally get...it brings out the worst in people sometimes! Adam feels the same way, so it all tracks. We tried taekwando this year, he liked it, but not enough to keep doing it. He has expressed interest in cooking and baking. And he loves camping. So we will keep trying to figure out what hobbies to get him into.

-Ren loves animals through and through. I love this about him. I save cat and dog videos on my phone on Facebook and instagram and then he will snuggle in with me to watch them sometimes. I love that his birthday photos ended up being very animal-centric, even though we didn't plan it that way (besides bringing Toast out with us)! We had to get a few with our beloved Riddick at the end!

Ren...you are the most amazing and unique individual that I know! And one day, that intensely clever brain of yours is going to do great things! We will keep plugging along and trying to find your niche and the things that inspire you. We love you more than words can say and are so grateful God put YOU in our little foursome. 

Here's the birthday video (this was taken closer to his actual birthday...not a month late!)...