I officially have no kids left in the single digits.

TEN. It’s such a little word but carries so much weight.

A decade of B in our lives. A decade of laughs, tears, heart-melting and heart-breaking moments, tantrums (now referred to as disagreements, although some similarities remain), sports facts, food adventures (I think he’s been full twice in his life), and love. B is the most loving kid I know. He sincerely cares about his family, friends, and their families. And his desire to make people laugh and caring nature go hand in hand. He loves seeing people happy and if he brings that joy to them he gets a sparkle in his eye.

This year I learned more about B than ever before. I learned that he is a people person and thrives being around his friends and community. That being outside reenergizes him. That seeing his sister happy and making her laugh is maybe the most important thing to him. That when he is processing something, it takes him time. That when he comes to us with questions about something, that means he’s been thinking about it for a long time. And in a year where so much has happened and been taken away, there have been times where I can see the weight of it all on his tiny shoulders.

But through it all, B’s spirit has been, in many ways, the glue to this family. His joy and laughter and words (all the millions of words he speaks every hour of every day) bring so much happiness to our home. Although there are times that I wish I didn’t live with a live, never-ending, talking sports ticker (I’m not kidding he really doesn’t stop talking), I still wouldn’t change anything about him.

With so many words to chose from, it was hard picking my favorite lines from B this year. But I came up with a few… below are some of the ways B has made me laugh and cry and shake my head (and laugh some more) this year.

On Food.

 “I should have listened to you.”

(In reference to eating too much as he rolls around in pain.)

and

About eating chili...

“I love the stirring and then the eating.”

and

“I love Doritos so much & I don’t know why.”

On Fame.

Upon hearing E’s synchro performance live streame will be on YouTube ...

“Whaaaat?! No fair. I wanna be on YouTube!” 

and

Only one parent can go to B basketball tournament & another parent is live-streaming it & B asks: “ohhhh so you can watch the game? Are there commercials? Is there a pregame show?” 

On Siblings.

and

“It’s not fair, girls always win!”

On Maturity.

I liked cartoons when I was little. Do I look young to you? I’m almost TEN. 

On Sports.

I need the NBA scores. It’s in my DNA. 

and

Asking about super bowl entertainment...who’s performing again? Wednesday? 

(It was The Weeknd) 

and

Are you ready to get your minds blowing?

(When about to tell us something “fascinating,” usually about sports.) 

and

Mad in the NFL = Madden NFL

On Holidays.

At bedtime on Christmas Day, B declared this was the best Christmas ever, followed by 2019, & then 2017. 

(We are not sure what happened in 2018 & not wanting to blow the top ranking we did not ask.

On the Generational Divide.

When B sees something old (ie: movie, house) he says, “this is a 19s movie/house.”

and

Seeing that old episodes of Gummi Bears are on Disney+, I got excited & put one on. B was not amused. 

Me: How can you not be interested?! It’s classic! 

B: You call it classic I call it old. 

and

Working on his computer for math...

“I want to go back to paper & pencil. The old fashioned way.”

On Small Talk (The Minnesotan Way) … and other Minnesota-isms

Neighbor asks B how his weekend is going. 

B: So far so good, not that busy. 

Neighbor: Those weekends are nice, right?

B: Yep. And probably one of the last nice days for awhile so I’m enjoying it. 

and

Exaggerated response after I tell B that daddy is going for a run. 

Arms raised in exclamation: “in this weather?!” 

(it’s 22°)

On One-Bathroom Household Issues.

B was afraid he’d make E angry when he needed to use the bathroom after she got in the shower. Nervous he asked what he should say. 

Me: Just tell her you feel bad & you’re sorry. 

B: ok

Knocks on door. 

E: Come in!

B: (running back to me) Wait what do I say???

Me: Just tell her you feel bad & you’re sorry. 

B: (entering bathroom) So I feel bad & I’m really sorry... 

B literally had to come back and ask for his “line” before going in. Has he never apologized before?!

On Junk Mail Excitement.

After I hear a big gasp, B runs into the kitchen & says, “Mommy can we open this?? It says daddy got a special gift!”

and

“Mommy! Look what was hanging on our door! Now we don’t have to do this stuff, someone else will do it for us!”

Other Quick-Witted Remarks

Playing connect four. B makes a move to set up a win & says, “I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

I block it & he immediately says, “I’ve gotta bad feeling about this.”

and

Playing a trivia game and read this question: “What does www stand for?”

B immediately says, “what, what, what?”

and

They are friends. Deep, deep friends. 

(When talking about girlfriend/boyfriend relationship)

and

Travelocity commercial is on. 

“I don’t like that little devil.”

...about the gnome.

and

After eating an ice cream sandwich donut combo (for E’s birthday) & I ask how it was...

“A tasteful classic”

and anytime hearing something he doesn’t want to hear…

“Spoiler alert”

Finally, he’s really spent some time fine-tuning his Boston accent. Along with Modern Family and Black-ish, we’ve watched a ton of Amazing Race, and Survivor during this pandemic, and all the east coast contestants had B practicing non-stop.

It’s been quite a year and I know for a fact it would have been much more boring and solemn without the lightness and joy of B in our lives. And even though you’re in the double digits, B, please don’t ever stop cuddling with me.