An Ollie Tale

Where to begin? Ah, yes.  Concerning Ollie...

Ollie's are happy, jolly and love to eat.  You prefer to be held, comfortable and cozy, rather than run off and have adventures.

Thus making you a hobbit of sorts...

Eight years old, baby! I can't believe it. Every year I have to pause when I write the number of years old you are and this year was no exception.

You still love to be fancy. Setting a table, your accents, video games. You also love to be the best.

This is the first year of school you’ve had from start to finish. How insane is it to think about that. You rocked it, of course. You love Mrs. Swanson, she was an incredible teacher, both challenging you and dressing up like a groundhog. A great balance for you. You scored really well in your hi-cap tests. You got so many raven raves. Your art is so beautiful and I can’t wait to see what you do with it. You got to go on a field trip! On a bus! To the zoo! You were most excited about the red foxes.

You got to celebrate your first birthday in school! You gave your classmates favors and got to have them sing happy birthday to you. I think you enjoyed being the last birthday of the school year.

You love brain teasers and jokes and fun facts. You love being with your people. You are growing out of being a little kid to being a big kid.

We had to say good bye to Floyd this year. You were so concerned for everyone else. Making sure they were ok. It took some work on your part to process it all for you. You’re a caretaker. Mom and dad will always work to make sure you know it’s not your job and we’re here for you.

We’re about to go on a cruise to Alaska. You are most excited about the tenders to shore. I love that. And the food, of course.

Even though I still think of you as a hobbit, we do love to go on adventures, hikes and walks. You love the snacks that sometimes accompany us. You love throwing rocks in the river. We are going to do so much adventuring this summer.

You and I traveled to Cheney and back in a day to get your really really long hair cut. It was such a fun day. With windy times near Columbia river, gas station snacks, singalongs, conversations. What a great day.

We went to Seabrook and brought Tristan! Such fun with all the cousins! You had a whole floor to yourselves. The older you get the more fun you three have together.

You got to go to birthday parties! Martial arts and baseball and gymnastics! I’m so glad we’re able to attend these in person events again. You had so much fun and play hard. I love how brave you are. When we had your birthday party, you wanted to go ice skating and just flew out there, fell pretty hard, got up and ran some more.

I can't wait to see what adventures we all get into in the years to come. Complete with second breakfast, elevensies and the other four meals when we can get them.

It's been an incredible year, one of the best and most surprising of my life.  I'd do the parts with you all over in a heartbeat, there and back again, for sure.  Thanks for choosing me to be your mom.

All my love,
Your mama