My Eldest

It's been a while since I've posted anything about Benjamin, who's now seven and a half. When I look back at baby pictures of him, it seems like an eternity ago. I have a hard time not expecting a lot from him, mostly because he's so far removed from that chubby, grumpy baby that introduced me to motherhood.
Paul and I took him to a fireside (an evening program at the church) to learn about baptism a few weeks ago. It was a really nice evening, but what struck me most was how tiny all those seven year olds were- including mine! It was a good reality check for me, that yes, he isn't a baby anymore, but he is still small. And for a few more years at least, he'll still think that I'm pretty great.

 Benjamin wanted to teach the lesson last week for Family Home Evening. He told the story of Ammon, and built Lego sets especially for his lesson.

 Here's King Lamoni with the net full of arms...

...and Ammon taking care of Lamoni's horses.
Benjamin still loves Legos, but not nearly as much as he used to. His most recent obsession of course was the Rainbow loom bracelets, which kind of tapered off after his teacher banned them from her classroom. I think the thrill for him was mostly in trading and comparing them with his friends.

Recently he wanted to use his rubber band looming skills and move on to crocheting. Unfortunately, the kit he picked out had a bunch of patterns for pretty advanced (though cute) stuffed animals. Paul, who is the only member of the family with any crocheting skills, patiently sat with him and tried to teach him. I think we'll have to find an easier project to start him on though.

What Benjamin lacks in artistic ability, he makes up for in confidence. He's never really cared too much about writing perfectly neat letters or drawing an exact likeness.
It was interesting meeting with his teacher a few weeks ago, and getting a glimpse into his life at school. For all my efforts trying to connect with him about what goes on at school, there's always a lot that's left out. He's a good kid, and she really likes him. She has worked really hard as his advocate to find challenging work, since his math and reading skills are years ahead of where he's supposed to be. She mentioned that our school's gifted program won't admit him because he has a very logical way of thinking, and wasn't creative enough. To me, that seems like it would include a very narrow set of thinkers, but I'm actually not that bothered by it. He's finding ways to challenge himself at home, like Khan Academy and reading through the I Survived series.

Benjamin is an extremely determined boy when he puts his mind to something. The other night, he bit into a chicken bone, and noted that his top front tooth was loose. Later that evening, he was in the bathroom with an onlooking grossed-out Peter, twisting his own tooth out. Gives me shivers just thinking about it.

He was so proud to have a hole in his smile again. This is his third tooth he's lost.
Another example of his resoluteness was a few weeks ago when his hearing was especially bad. I mentioned to him that it might be worth a try to go off dairy to see if things would improve. He took that as his personal challenge, and stuck to it for two weeks- until his surgery date when he got new ear tubes put in. Then it was back to ice cream and cereal with real milk! Eventually, I think it might be worth going off dairy altogether, but we'll see. He's a kid who isn't going to be pushed into anything. (So, going off milk may have worked, but there's no way to really tell. The ear surgeon noticed a lot of hard buildup which he removed, and a lot of fluid that was drained with the tubes.)
I am proud of this little boy and who he is becoming. I'm really am grateful to be called his mother.