Ren is 8!! We all know that I'm just really wanting to go on and on about how insane that is, but I will spare us all that. When I look back at baby photos, or toddler photos...I really see how much his face has thinned out. It's crazy!
Now...on to what Ren is like at 8 years old!
*Ren is absolutely obsessed with Sutton. They have shared a bedroom for the past 5ish years, but now that Sutton is older, he asked for his own space. For Christmas this past year, Adam and his dad built Sutton a bedroom in our basement. Ren got a makeover for his room and a new bed as well. Both boys were very excited, however the transition to sleeping by himself has been very tough for Ren. We use 2 night lights as well as string lights, a noise machine, and we let him keep his bedroom door open. The boys also have been doing "brother sleepovers" every weekend night, where Sutton lets Ren sleep in his bed with him downstairs.
*Ren always wants to do everything with Sutton and has a hard time being separated from him. Sometimes I wonder if Ren has missed out a bit on being little, because he always wants to do whatever Sutton is doing, and with the almost-4-year-age gap between them, obviously Sutton's interests are a bit more mature!
*Sutton is very kind overall with Ren. He allows him to play with him and his friends and loves doing video games together. The biggest arguments happen when Ren comes up with a game he wants to play (like bad guys fighting zombies or even just jumping on the trampoline) but Sutton doesn't want to play. Sometimes we force him to join his little bro. Sometimes not.
*Ren is unlike anyone I know. The best words I can use to describe...introverted, sensitive, creative, artsy, genius.
*Ren often tells us that things are too loud, or places are too noisy. Often that hasn't even occurred to me in these scenarios, so noise is definitely something that affects him differently. He also has often told me that he is tired or something similar when he has been around people for too long. I will try to accommodate his feelings and let him be alone, if I can. I appreciate that he is able to recognize why he's feeling the way he's feeling and vocalize it to me. It's just so different from our extroverted firstborn!
*Ren is quick to cry, but also quick to laugh. I think he has a lot of push and pull within him. Wanting to try new things but being scared too. He just seems to feel a lot of things.
*Ren is very creative. He likes to draw, color, paint, do play do, make crafts, and he's always very detailed in his work.
*Ren is so incredibly smart. He started teaching himself how to multiply before he was halfway through 2nd grade - they haven't even started learning that in school yet. He also taught himself how to add simple fractions (think 1/4 plus 1/4 equals 1/2). One thing he always does that I find so interesting...he always alerts us when there's a "fact family" on the clock. Like 2+2=4, so the fact family is 2 2 4, so he will tell us if the time is 2:24. Or 4:22.
*He also loves reading. His reading has really taken off in his 7th year. He loves Dog Man books the most, but also checks out non-fiction books about animals, storms, or oceans from his school library. He's in the higher reading group at school. It's interesting though, because he's so good at reading and yet we struggle with him writing a lot of letters backwards. We feel like dyslexia is unlikely, as is eyesight...the best explanation we can come up with is that he just doesn't place importance on it...like he wants to finish and move on so he doesn't take his time.
*He remembers everything, so he will always pull out random facts in the middle of conversation and we wonder where it came from. One day he asked me if I knew who Andrew Jackson was. He told me that Andrew Jackson "assembled a ragtag group of militia men." He remembers exact quotes like that from school or from TV. He was explaining the Underground Railroad to me recently too.
*Ren is not sporty. We had him in soccer last spring and he was the kid chasing butterflies, pulling grass to make a grass pile, and being generally oblivious that there was a game going on and that he was a part of it. He dreaded the games and practice. So we don't plan to push sports for now, he definitely seems to excel in and enjoy the creative things.
*I often worry that since he is so different and doesn't completely fit the mold, that his teacher may not understand him, or may not have patience with him, or know the right way to help him. This is definitely something I have noticed a difference in from grade to grade. Last year he had a teacher who was very similar to him. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not so similar to him, but as his mom I obviously will be quicker to take the time to understand his little quirks and idiosyncrasies. Definitely something I worry and pray about!
*A normal week day morning for Ren looks like this: his alarm clock goes off at 7:15. Sometimes he gets out of his loft bed on his own, sometimes I have to go offer to carry him to the breakfast table. I don't mind...he's my baby. He eats instant oatmeal and drinks chocolate milk for breakfast. He's good about bringing his dishes to the sink, then he goes to the couch and curls up under my electric blanket until I force him out from under it. I pick out his clothes and he gets dressed, brushes his teeth, I fix his hair and he puts on his shoes. We still do slip ons because he doesn't know how to tie. We tried in Kindergarten to teach him that and it didn't go well but we should try again. We leave for school around 7:40am.
*On weekends, he prefers cereal for breakfast and he plays video games when he gets up. He is obsessed with Minecraft and the VR (virtual reality) headset. He loves pretend worlds. If he's not on a video game, he will often talk to himself or his imaginary friends...just in his own little world.
*Ren has a couple of friends at school, but he often chooses to play by himself...I think often when others don't want to play what he is playing, he'd rather play alone. He goes in phases with his friends...we will hear all about one kid for weeks, then won't hear about that kid again but it will be someone new. He also told me that he's the "least famous kid in my class" which kind of broke my heart but I think his introverted nature kind of brings it on himself. I don't get to observe him around his peers much, so I only get bits and pieces from what he tells me.
*Ren has a big heart for animals. Especially our cats. His happy place is up in his loft bed with his iPad and a kitten to play with. He loves stuffed animals too. We have Frookles, Finn, Fredrick, Hoodoo as the favorites currently.
*Ren is HILARIOUS and has the best comedic timing. I don't even know how to explain it, and not everyone appreciates it, but we think he is the funniest thing alive. Probably because we have his same sense of humor.
*Ren has always been a picky eater but has gotten a bit better lately. I can sometimes get him to eat the hot lunch at school. He has decided he likes cauliflower so that is helpful to get some veggies in him. His favorites are cheese pizza, Mac n cheese (Chic-fil-a, Doc Green's, Kraft), meat-cheese-mayo sandwiches, grilled cheese. He loves anything sweet - cookies, candy, brownies. His favorite drinks are Yoohoo and chocolate milk.
It's just so interesting how different your two kids - who you parent the same - can be from each other. I am absolutely loving this stage of life where their personalities and differences and similarities are really coming out. I am loving getting to know them as real people and joking around with them, not just taking care of their needs. We just have so many inside jokes and they are the funniest kids. They obviously still have their moments - Sutton needs to know when to stop and Ren needs to not be so sensitive - but I really am so blessed by both of them and am so happy to be their mom!
