I don’t write about my kids very often, well not a lot about them, you probably couldn’t call this blog a journal for my kids the way some other bloggers do. Partly, I like to keep their lives private, but it’s mostly because I spend all day doing for my kids, I think  of this white space as mine.

But Vanilla hasn’t had a turn to be a feature character here in awhile. So, let’s hop on the train and see what’s new with him, shall we?

He’s currently in 4th grade and doing all 5th grade work. I asked for and received a letter from his current principal making a recommendation to bump him straight into 6th grade next year. My baby is going to be in middle school…

Gah, I’m old.

It is a good thing at his current school they already do class changes, so at least tat bit won’t be new to him even though all the kids and the school will be. At least we’ll have all summer to get over and adjust to the upcoming 3 hour time difference. It’s a bit harder than you think. Honestly, I think large time changes are much easier.

He’s also started doing chores. In the past, he’s done a few chores with inconsistency, but he found a chore chart on my desk (that I’d printed months ago from the internet and had actually been intended for me), and decided to pick two chores a day from the list to do. Last night he did the dinner dishes and emptied the dishwasher. The proof:

 

The boy hates having his picture taken so I have to use my crappy phone camera, on silent, so he won’t know what I’m up to.

Like I said, it’s not easy to sneak things past him. I usually end up instituting a bribe (like ten minutes of picture time and you get 15 extra minutes of wii). I envy those parents whose kids actually not only agree to photos, but agree with smiles.

Mr Vanilla is a very smart boy, who’s chugging his way through Harry Potter (currently mid way through book 6, our deal was he could watch all the movies in the car during the cross country trek if he finished book 6 first), who has been amazingly sweet and kind to his little sister, who loves his dog, and sitting with Mocha in the yellow chair (the only chair she’s allowed on) is one of his favorite things to do.

I love my kiddo who still gives me hugs within plain view of the school bus at age ten, is starting to share more of what he does at school without it being a chore, and who I think when he grows up is going to do something so spectacular, it’ll knock my socks off. I’m very excited to see him as an adult, and see what he does.

As long as he doesn’t ever grow up.