Silas age 13

 

It's been awhile since I've created a post, but there is no time like the present.   Just about 2 weeks ago Silas had a birthday.  He is now 13 and officially a teenager.  There has been a lot of talk and comments about becoming a teenager from friends, family and others.  We have talked for the past year about how becoming a teenager can be challenging and that things can get jumbled up with hormones and how the brain is evolving - like a computer getting reprogrammed.  I believe it is important for Silas to understand these changes, but also not to be afraid of them.  To know that there will be ups and downs and that is okay.  There are many amazing things to look forward to for him the next 5 years, and we look forward to walking with him through it all.  So that was my teenage mom pep-talk.  Mostly to myself, I may need to go back at look at this in the near future! (perhaps tomorrow?).

Silas continues to be a very happy boy.  He is not afraid to try new things, and enjoys hanging out with his friends.  A highlight of his week is on Fridays when his friend Jonathan comes over and they make tuna melts for lunch! It's become a tradition, and they both seem to enjoy it a lot!  Silas is still really amazing at finding fun things to do with his friends.  Playing soccer in the yard, making up card games, making their own soccer player cards, building with Legos, and the occasional Fifa game or Fortnite excursion.  I am impressed by his ability to continue to be creative and play, as well as stay active!

As for free time activities, Silas is very passionate about soccer.  He has played since he was 4 years old, and it is fun to see him now playing on a 11 mans field, with the same size goal as the professionals.  Silas continues to play goalie, and works really hard at that.  He can be a bit hard on himself at times, thinking every goal scored against him is his fault. He is still learning that team sports mean that nothing is just one persons fault.  He loves practicing and is totally bummed if he has to miss a practice.   He is also a huge soccer fan in general and knows so much about soccer teams, players, coaches, etc.  His favorite teams are Manchester United, and the local Danish team FC Midtjylland.

Silas also continues to play golf, and has again this year been given permission to practice an extra hour a week with the golf pro and  a smaller group of juniors.  He just went down in handicap, and was super excited about that.  Last Friday he played 18 holes on the big course in the pouring rain, and was smiling at the end.  That is pretty amazing! He plays in tournaments and competitions and is learning a lot.

Silas is also continuing to pursue his passion for singing.  He is in GospelTeens, a musical choir where they perform musicals for Christmas and Easter.  This past spring he had several solos and also played a continuous role of a homeless child throughout the musical.  I am the leader of this choir, and it is fun to get to see him grow and make friends there.  This Christmas they will be performing a musical again!

Just before turning 13 Silas talked about finding a job.  Here in Denmark you can get a job at age 13.  Just the next day Silas was asked to be a babysitter.  He was excited about this opportunity and has been there three times so far watching two boys age 2 and 5.  Last time he also had to put them to bed and it was a bit rough with the two year old crying, but Silas managed to find a solution and get him to sleep.  He is still interested in finding another job, so we'll see what happens. 

Other notable things at this time:

1) Silas won an award last golf season for best work ethic and being a team player.  (Proud parents here!)

2) Our boys have begun to be their own babysitters when Søren and I have to go places.  Silas takes lead  - sings and prays with Benjamin and Liam and gets them to bed, etc.

3)  Silas was invited to a confirmation party with his friend.  He didn't know any of the other guests, but wanted to go to support his friend, and had a good time.  Pretty cool.

4) Silas was in the band for the 6th grade spring play and played drums and bass guitar.  So his music interests go beyond singing and he enjoys learning new instruments, etc.  The past year he has practiced a song from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and can now play the entire song on the piano.

Yep, I think this bragging blog post is coming to an end.   We are excited to see what the next year brings for this amazing teenage boy! 

                                                 

Liam quote

 Just one of those things you want to remember....or....?😏

Liam asked me the other day.

"Mommy, who do you like better, me or Far?"

As I start to answer something like...I don't need to like anyone better....etc. Liam interrupts me and says 

"It's okay if you say Far, because I like Far better then you."

I then reply "Oh Liam, you wouldn't know what to do without me.." with a smile on my face.  Liam then looks very seriously into my eyes and says. "Yes I would, I wouldn't even cry if you died."....

Hmmm....

Benjamin age 9

 Benjamin 9 år

I would really like to keep up with the blog, for my own sake and for all of you who tell me you enjoy it.  I keep getting behind, but some is better than nothing.  This update is about Benjamin and what he is up to these days.

Benjamin continues to be a very affectionate boy.  He LOVES hugs and smoochies and sitting close to Mom or Dad on the couch.  He also loves to play with Zoey and just cuddle with her in the mornings.  Every morning Benjamin comes in at 6:40am exactly and cuddles up to Zoey.  He is still very much a morning person and will waked up around 6:30 every day of the week…also Saturday and Sunday morning, even if he has been up pretty late the night before. 

In his freetime he attends GospelKids and FDF (a Danish scouts program).  He also goes to golf training once a week with Liam, Silas and Søren…and of course his best buddy Isak!  He is improving so much as he finds the right technique and of course the right amount of concentration!

As for GospelKids, he really enjoys being there with his friends.  He is the only boy from his class at GospelKids, but he often times plays with the girls so he is not bothered by being the only boy at GospelKids.  In general, at school, he really likes the more quiet games like playing “House” (Mor/far/barn) or playing at the playground….definitely not soccer, if you ask him!   At home Benjamin continues to love creating things with Legos and also making stop motion videos of his lego creations.  He can sit for hours trying to create something, and includes lots of details. 

This past March, Benjamin went to a huge GospelKids festival at a local boarding school.  There were about 300 kids and they practiced songs for 1½ days before finishing with a concert. Benjamin was very tired towards the end and needed to just sit with me during a break, but it was great that I was with as a helper so I could give him what he needed.  It is still quite easy to see that Benjamin prefers smaller groups and to know what is going to happen when he is someplace new.  So it was incredible that he went and had a great time.  On the way home he exclaimed “I’m definitely going again next year!!!”. 

Benjamin is a home-body and likes to just hang out at home playing games, etc.  He also loves cuddling on the couch watching TV....anything really.  But you can be sure he will ask A LOT of questions throughout the show!!! He is very curious...to put it positively!  He love being home, but he  also really loves when he gets invited to someone elses’ house.  A good balance of both is great for him. 

Benjamin does very well at school and has really figured out the whole reading thing! He reads chapter books in bed and reads all the signs we see outloud to us as well.  His English skills are also improving as he speaks A LOT more English to me and my family.   He started having official English classes at school this year, and I think that has really boosted his confidence and he will have complete conversations with me in English these days.  Finally Benjamin likes playing instruments, his favorite is the drums right now, and he is very proud that he gets to play drums in music class for one of the songs they are working on!

His favorite color is still RAINBOW, as you can see! He wanted RAINBOW FROSTING!

 

Liam 6+

 I've been behind on the blog again, and want to write down some of the updates on Liam since August 2022.  

First of all, Liam turned 6! He had a nice birthyday, celebrating with the boys from his class. It was the first time having his class home, and it went really well. For dinner we went out for pizza here in Skjern.  The following weekend we had an "ice cream" themed party for Liam and his  cousin Celina, who has the same birthday.  It ended not really being much of a theme party, besides the cake and some homemade decorations, but Liam was happy!

Otherwise notable things in Liams life since he turned 6 are:

- He is thriving in school.  He enjoys his classmates and has lots of friends he likes to talk to and spend time with.  He is a very fast learner and is excelling in math, and learning to read some small danish words as well! He feels a bit mixed about homework.  Some days he takes it out himself and really gets into it, other days he whines and cries about having to write 20 letter T's....all in all I would say he enjoys school both socially and academically.

- Liam is done with school at 11.15 on fridays. I am glad fridays are my days off, otherwise it would be hard to be able to be home so early.  One friday, Benjamin and Silas had playdates after school, so Liam and I decided to have a day date together.  We went to the beach and camping ground near by where we played mini golf, ate ice cream, played on the playground and walked down to the fjord.  It was so lovely to spend time with him 1 on 1 again, after so many years of having at least 1 day a week for just the two of us.  I found out he is SUPER brave when it comes to climbing, and I had a few shocks to my system as Liam just hopped around on the jungle gym at the playground.  

- Since a little before his 6th birthday, Liam has been biking to school in the mornings without an adult.  He just bikes with his brothers and takes care of everything himself.  He has even biked home by himself somedays, when there aren't any brothers to bike home with. He likes the independence and you can see the pride in his eyes when he walks in the door. 

- This fall Liam started playing team handball.  He has a fun time running around with his friends, and learning how to jump and throw.  Unfortunately he broke his collarbone at the end of October, and had to take a 6 week break.  But he is back at it now, enjoying training, but not quite feeling ready to play in official games yet.  

-To add details to the collarbone story.  Liam was swinging at school and when he jumped off the swing he landed flat on his stomach.  He complained about it hurting to the teachers, but finished the school day.  He was supposed to bike home with Silas that day, but his teacher called me and said that Liam had fallen, and was complaining of pain in his shoulder, so she didn't think he could bike home.  I then went up to school to pick him up, and he was crying and holding his shoulder, right by his collarbone.  Liam is usually quick to shake off bumps and bruises, so I knew I needed to take it seriously.  We went to the DR and they thought he needed an X-ray.  All the time, the other 2 boys are home alone.  When we went to the X-ray area, the whole IT system was down and we waited and waited.  Finally they said we should go home and come the next day.  Liam was in such pain, so it was quite frustrating.  On the way home we went to the pharmacy to get some childrens painrelief.  The pharmacy was OUT of the childrens kind...so we drove to a different town and while I was paying for the medicine, the X-ray technician called and said the machines were working again, so we should come back.  Back and forth with a boy who was in lots of pain.  To finish the long story, the X-ray showed his collarbone was broken and he was given a sling to wear for at least 2 weeks and then was to take it easy, no running, biking, handball, climbing, etc for 6 weeks.  This proved to be very difficult for Liam, age 6! The day after his fall there was a class party where they could jump in a soft pit full of soft "lego" bricks, run on airtracks, etc.  All his classmates were running and tumbling, having a great time, and Liam had to just watch.  It was heartbreaking for both Mommy and Liam. He DID NOT want to wear his sling at all, so that was also a fight!  Luckily now the 6 weeks are over and everything is back to normal.  We couldn't believe this happened to Liam. Silas had done the exact same thing in Kindergarten, jumping off a swing and landing and breaking his collarbone...what are the odds??

- Liam and I had another fun Mommy and Liam day! Benjamin and Silas were both at a FDF camp (Like girl/boys scouts in the US), and Søren was working an entire saturday, so Liam and I decided to head to Esbjerg for a day of fun.  It was just the weekend after he broke his collarbone, so our options were much more limited. We ended up in Esbjerg at the mall, where we ate lunch/brunch at a restaurant, did a bit of shopping, and went to the movies.  The movie, in my opinion, was not very good, but Liam liked it and we enjoyed our popcorn and candy!  Afterwards we had to get back home to Zoey and we just enjoyed a nice evening at home together.  

- Just before Christmas, Liam lost his 2 front teeth.  After much persauding I got him to make a video saying "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."  He has been asked everywhere we go if he has lost teeth and if the new ones are coming in.  Liam is in a phase where he completely ignores people if he doesn't feel like answering them, so that has happened a lot! His adult teeth are on their way in now. I feel like it was a big thing to have my baby boy lose his front teeth, then again, everything is bigger with the youngest!

Before

After

I think that sums it up! Liam is a sweet, smart, teaser, jokester, yeller, whiner, quick witted, loving boy, and we enjoy spending time with him!

Mini Vacation

 We enjoyed a very nice weekend at a vacation center the last weekend of August.  We know that August is really busy starting back to work and school, lots of parent meetings, etc, and that it is really good for us to get some quality time as a family.  So this year we rented a little vacation townhouse and had a nice long weekend at Landal center near Silkeborg.  Søren had a much deserved day off on Friday, so we let the kids have a short day at school and we were able to leave at 10am.  It was only about an hour drive, and we rented through Airbnb so we were able to check in as early as we wanted.  

Townhouse from the front

The weather was really nice so after lunch we took a walk around the grounds of the vacation center.  We played at all the playgrounds and got to see the indoor facilities...gym, play area and water park.  We had Zoey with and she really loved all the new places to explore.  Later in the day we went to the waterpark and the boys went down the waterslide about 100 times...I have to admit, Søren and I went on the slide lots of times too, it went really fast and was super fun! On the walk back to our townhouse it started pouring and we got completely drenched...so much for blowdrying my hair after swimming!  Luckily we could just change when we got back to the hosue, but our shoes were wet most of the weekend! After drying off, we had our friday pizza dinner at the townhouse and watched Disney and Alle mod 1, a fun danish quiz show that shows here friday nights.  It was a lovely day.

On Saturday, we spent the morning hiking in the woods and the hills in the surrounding area.  We had a bit of a rocky start, as Benjamin walked into some burning nettles with his bare legs and was in some pain.  After some time everyone was in a good mood and we loved watching Zoey have a great time in the woods. We came across lots and lots of blueberry bushes and we all enjoyed eating lots of them, Zoey too! That day we also played in the indoor play center, and Silas made up a fun game of not touching the ground, which him and I had a lot of fun with.  The kids also built lots of creations with some wooden blocks there.  Fun for all ages.  Then we took a walk down to the nearby lake, and ended the afternoon with another trip to the water park, where there was lots of sliding going on again.  Liam really got into diving under the water with his new swim goggles and started trying to swim in the deep end without his swim wings.  At 5pm the waterpark turned into a disco and there was a smoke machine, glitter beach balls and loud music playing lots of 90s hits.  It was fun! 

On Sunday, we were able to still do some fun things because #1 - our rental included cleaning and #2, because we didn't rent through the center, we didn't have to check out by 11am and could also stay as late as we wanted to! We took Zoey for a nice walk, and actually to a dog park nearby where she could run freely and she came right back to us everytime we called her!  And then of course, we went to the water park again!!  Again it was a success with lots of diving, sliding and ball throwing.  While Søren and Silas were packing up, Benjamin, Liam, Zoey and I went to one of the playgrounds again, and had a great time.  By 3pm we were ready to head back home and get ready for a new week.  Within 1 hour of being home we were unpacked, laundry was started and homework was done! So we enjoyed a quiet sunday evening at home.  All in all a fantastic weekend for all!!