Jamey and I were talking the other night about our kids and how we wish we could stop time and remember them just as they are at each different stage. You think you'll never forget all their precious firsts and cute sayings but you inevitably do and have trouble remembering exactly what those little sayings are! With that said, I just wanted to post a little update on everyone as of now, but I'm sure I will forget plenty!
I'm going to start with Hudson. Oh Hudson, where to begin. You are by far the most strong-willed and demanding Bass boy in my opinion. You know what you want and when you want it, and you want it on your own time. Whether it's a snack, more milk, a toy, etc., you are on your own little schedule. You like things in order just like me, which I love, but you can be a little OCD about it. Like if I'm cleaning and put something on the furniture for a minute to vacuum where it normally goes, you can't stand it and yell at me the whole time to put it back where it goes! You are quite chatty at times but you can be shy as well. You have a "favorite lady" that checks us out at the grocery store and you freak out when she isn't working and yell at the poor other cashiers and tell them "no her my favorite lady, mommy!" You adore school and go two days a week but you love to be shy and like for me to hold you when we walk into your class. Although I don't like it when you cry, I do love these cuddly times when you love being held and rest your head on my shoulder. It only takes you a minute or two to warm up to your classroom but you are always so cute and excited at pickup time. You run full speed out the door into my legs like I'm the best thing since sliced bread. You know everyone in the entire school's name and are always pointing out kids I've never even noticed before and telling me their names! Your teacher is Miss Rhonda, but you just called her "Rrhonda" without the Miss and with a lot of emphasis on the R! She hopefully doesn't mind:). You love books and all things related to cars, trucks, and boy things. My favorite thing you say right now and have said for a while is "Hold you me" when you want to be picked up. I'm sure Daddy will have more to add but that's all for now!
Now Mr. Cooper. Although I still baby you and sometimes carry you up to bed at bedtime, you are growing up so fast right before our very eyes. You like school and do well, but I wouldn't say you love it. You are my lazy boy and would be perfectly content watching TV, playing video games, and eating for hours on end, although your food choices are still quite limited! You don't really have a modest bone in your body and are definitely at ease showing off all of your skin to anyone around. Not that you do it on purpose, you are just comfortable without a stitch of clothing on, regardless of your company. You are learning so much in school and have very good fine motor skills, like writing your letters better than your big brother, but don't tell him I told you so! Carter taught you how to draw a star and you have proudly carved a few with sticks into your dad's car. It took about 3 months of us asking for you to confess your crime but you finally told us you were the culprit. You love sports, especially baseball and tennis right now and you are very good at them both. You just have natural athletic ability but you are usually scared to try things because you don't think you will be able to do them. You are also my cuddler. You are very affectionate and frequently come up to give me a kiss or hug for no reason at all. At bedtime, after we have said prayers and kissed you goodnight, you always say we didn't kiss you and ask for, "one more smooch!" You are very concerned with my appearance and beg me to please not wear my hair in a ponytail! Just yesterday, you came into my bathroom while I was drying my hair and said, "Yes! I knew you were going to be pretty today Mommy! Thanks for being beautiful for me!"
Last but not least, my Carter. You are such a kind, gentle child but not gentle in a negative way. You are caring and compassionate in a way that is unbelievable to be only 7. You do really well in school in all areas, but you have really excelled in Math and Social Studies. Sounds vaguely familiar to someone that's about 6'2' that you favor quite a bit! You like school and easily make friends and treat all your classmates with respect...you even recently received a character award for just that. You already don't love your homework but once we actually do it, you usually breeze through it. You love sports and playing outside and will go out and play with our neighbors from the time you get home from school until we tell you it's time to come in. One of the many joys of cul de sac living and neighbors with children! You swim three days a week and have learned so much and caught on so quickly. It amazes me to watch you swim back and forth for a solid hour and not complain one bit. You have three coaches and your head coach is nice but doesn't really baby anyone like all of your previous coaches. This has been harder on me than you because I think you deserve more praise for all that you are doing but I guess it's a good thing to get used to just working hard and being driven by your own goals rather than praise from an adult. You are usually patient and kind to your brothers and help them if they need help but if you are tired, which is happening more frequently, we all know to steer clear. You can be quick to cry and yell but we know it's only because you've been up since the crack of dawn and gone from school to swim to homework, etc.
I'm amazed by how different each of you are. You definitely have similarities but also quite obviously are your own little beings that make me the happiest and luckiest mom around. I love you all so much and am so proud to be your parent. It is a constant challenge to exercise patience as often as I must but I do try very hard to do what is best and to teach you to all be responsible, strong, and smart boys so you can grow up to be hard-working and well-rounded men. I recently read something about how bad moments do not equal bad parents...that's definitely something I keep in mind often when my patience isn't at its peak!
