Adding a Year

With birthday season in full swing, it was time to take a few photos to document growth.  Let's start from the top down.  :-)

Jozsef turns 19 this year.  Yes, you read that right, 19.  This year of transition has been very full for him as he adjusts to working and schooling in conjunction.  It seems that every time he gets in the groove, something changes significantly, but Jozsef is rolling with it all very well and his flexibility is paying off as he's already had a promotion at work and his mentor at school is very pleased with his submissions,  This year has been educational and eye opening for Jozsef on a whole new level and he's definitely a man-child these days with his boyhood firmly behind him--and he's rockin' it! 

Nikolas turned 16 this year--what a milestone!  He did not celebrate with a car topped with a gigantic bow in top in the driveway (he'll have to earn that) but he did welcome in this milestone by securing his first "real" job.  Nikolas, like Jozsef, is leaving boyhood completely behind and entering manhood.  Though Nikolas is still in school, having a job to juggle in his responsibility set will stretch and grow him in new and necessary ways so that he can better manage his future.  Nikolas is ready for this next exciting, though sometimes exhausting, level of being a man-child.  We are excited to see him bloom and grow and we look forward to how the last two years of high school will progress for him.  Nikolas is a determined person who knows what he wants--and he'll go get it.  :-)

Connor turned 12 this year. He too is feeling the stretch to leave childhood and grow into manhood. He's talking to his brothers about things like joining them in their workouts and he spends far less time hanging out with the younger kids.  Our "middle child" is more likely to spend time alone reading if the older boys aren't available than he is in joining the younger kids in their play.  Connor's personality is growing with him as he is conversational on a more serious and theoretical level these days--he pontificates often.  His sense of humor has always been good but even his jokes are getting more mature.  Connor loves a good magic trick and he is often trying to perfect new tricks to share with the people around him.  I love that he is maturing, but he's still not too lofty to spend quality time with the younger set when a good opportunity arises.  Connor is living in this middle space and managing the accompanying tension quite well. :-)

We had a great time taking these pictures.  The boys are such goofs!  We laughed a lot as we struggled to get the right lighting and the right angles to capture good representations of them.  The older two love that they are taller than me and the challenges that presents.  The jokes were rolling and so was our laughter.  It was a good afternoon.  

Sonja is turning 10 this year.  As an official tween she is already stacking up the "oh my goodness!" moments.  It's as though she expects an instant change once the calendar turns for her--I'm afraid she'll be disappointed.  :-) No drastic or immediate changes are expected, but she is getting that much closer to puberty--something we're all preparing for.  It's inevitable and we strive to make the process as normal as possible and as easy as the boys' transitions.  Call me idealistic, but I think we can do it.  :-)  In any case, she is happy to move up on the age scale, and simultaneously, she seems content not to light speed ahead in her interests and social desires.  She remains the creative girl who really enjoys being artistic in her free time.  She loves playing with the neighborhood girls her age (let's be real--she loves interacting with pretty much any girl group) but she's still really content spending her free time with the other two younger siblings.  Though I have lovingly dubbed them the "bicker bunch" (a natural side effect of being closely spaced in age) they really are good friends.  I do have a feeling, however, that these tween years may (at least temporarily) affect her willingness to be such an active part of their crowd...time will tell.

Riley turns nine this year.   This boy loves to create!  He spends hours building with Legos and explaining the things he will make in the future.  Taking him to Home Depot is no small trip!  This boy sees the aisles as supply stations for the multiple creations just waiting for the opportunity to materialize from his mind into the real world.  If Riley isn't creating with Legos or even Minecraft, he's spending his time playing in the backyard or with the girls and the neighborhood kids.  Riley is very relational and has already developed his first crush--yep, he's noticed girls.  He actually talks about marriage more than Connor does!  Each of them develop on their own time lines, that's for sure.  :-)  This one just needs to keep his focus on his creations a whole lot longer--but I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem.  Riley is seriously in his head most of the day building stuff and it's great!  He blows me away with the things he comes up with.  I look forward to seeing where this takes him in the future. 

Hannah is turning seven this year.  As she is finishing up her first grade year, Hannah is fully stepping into being a big girl.  Though she still struggles a bit with how she pronounces some of her words, her brain is not as babyish as she may sound.  Hannah is good at holding real and thoughtful conversations and she's very creative.  She spends much of her free time creating in multiple ways--drawings, art, tea parties, imaginary play and outfits (she loves to flex her style in either real outfits or dress up).  Hannah is very relational and loves to hang out.  She's great at picking times to spend with everyone.  She knows who is best at what and she's great at buttering you up to share your talents with her.  :-)  Being the person in the house with the most free time, Hannah has as much time to herself as she'd like, but plenty of flexibility to jump into a good opportunity.  Hannah is very excited for summer and the fun it brings.  I'm with her!  It'll be nice to have a change in schedule and time to enjoy different things together before the next school year where responsibilities change and the real hallmarks of increasing age shows in the kids.  I do love to see them grow well, but I also cherish the time I have with them now.  <3 p="">

I love how bonded these three are and how much the camera loves them.  The day we took pictures was just beautiful and they were all on board for getting the right snapshots. When I told them to take a group shot, they got all close and lovey all by themselves.  That's just them together.  It's precious, and I love this photo.  :-) 

Over the Moon

When you celebrate a boy and the theme he chooses for his day has everything to do with other galaxies, it's appropriate to say that he was over the moon happy with his day.  :-)  Connor recently turned 12 and in keeping with his point of origin, we continued the tradition of the Star Wars movie binge, beginning two days before and culminating on his birthday and Star Wars day proper.

Part of his celebration was a trip to see the Avengers End Game movie after a great wing lunch.  Endgame was appropriately action packed enough to keep you interested and the story line was well written tying up all of the loose ends of the Infinity saga and we very much enjoyed it. 

We stopped to get a drink and process the movie before we got home.  Since not everyone went to see it, and the others will be waiting awhile before they get to see it, we had to talk it out so that we can hold our tongues and not ruin the movie for the others.  :-) 

My Dragon fruit drink matched my shoes!

On Connor's birthday proper, it just so happened that, the Chick Fil A that the older boys work at was running a special promotion.  The owner of the Chick Fil A chose to commemorate the history of the land that their store was built on. 

Nikolas helped to promote the giveaway.  

Where the new Chick Fil A stands used to be a gas station general store where many of the long standing locals have great memories of going to puck up a moon pie and a coke. 

So, on this special anniversary day, Chick Fil A was handing out a moon pie and a coke to all of their guests.  Though the boys were working, we were able to visit a bit with them, have a great lunch, and enjoy a moon pie and a coke.  It was a great treat. 

Jozsef was hard at work on this extra busy giveaway Saturday

 After lunch, Connor and I headed out to a local art festival.  The weather decided to take a turn and we dodged quite a bit of rain as we popped in and out of vendor tents.  But we ended on a high note of sun and the acquisition of a thumb piano for Connor.  The vendor educated us on his little instruments and Connor was quickly smitten with the ability of a gourd to sound so awesome.  He took his time to choose one, but left with something beautiful and a song book to learn how to play his heart out. 

Connor picked a thumb piano made of a beautiful biblical wood called Padauk.

He played it all night long, and Jozsef joined in with singing bowl.  It was great. 

Connor chose to BBQ for his birthday dinner so we enjoyed a great rib meal and then had a torte for dessert, followed by gift opening.  Connor chose a peach raspberry torte which was quite dense but very tasty.

The candles for his cake were like little sparklers and he had a blast trying to actually blow them all out--and keep them out.  :-) 

 We were full and content at the end of the night. 

And now, Connor is officially twelve.  One step further from elementary school and closer to high school.  Suddenly he seems a bit more mature and at the same time, a bit awkward in a growing boy sense.  :-)  It was a lot of fun joining him in celebration, and now the countdown to the next Star Wars day begins.  :-) 

Happy birthday Connor!  We love you!