Ralph: Celebrating 10 years!

(not quite complete) 

Ten years tonight I was holding this little 7 lb 11 ounce baby in my arms.  He was just a few hours old; there were so, so many things I had absolutely no clue about.  None.  Luckily, I learned as he grew and will continue to learn as he continues to grow.  Some days we will have it right; other days we still have a lot to learn about each other.

Ralph loves to talk.  He may not admit it; he may not realize he talks as much as he does but he loves to talk . . . . up until the point someone he is less familiar with talks to him or gives him a compliment and he simply shrugs his shoulders as if he doesn’t care.  The most worthwhile time Ralph could spend with someone is shooting the breeze, playing a game, or being read to.  Ralph thrives on one on one attention.

When he isn’t talking Ralph can be found reading a book.  He can tune out everything around him and read.  He enjoys reading books by Stuart Gibbs (Spy School series), Rick Riordan (various series), Dan Gutman (his latest series’ Flashback Four), and Lisa McCann (the Unwanted Series).  When Ralph wakes up on the weekend he usually goes straight to a book.

We are looking at taking a trip to Denver when school gets out – just to go somewhere different.  I didn’t realize an amusement park was on the list of “must do’s” but it seems to be important.  Ralph prefers rides that go around or spins ~ those rides that have a drop or a fall are ones he does not like in the least.

Ralph has lost four baby teeth so far and currently has three loose teeth.  We are anticipating the day we need to schedule that first orthodontist appointment.

His clothing choices are only picky in the sense that he prefers the running/athletic pants.  Tops and bottoms don’t have to match in color or pattern/texture (he is ok wearing tops that I would pair with regular pants – not athletic pants) ~ as long as they meet the requirement of long sleeves or short sleeves he doesn’t mind that other people may pair them up with different bottoms.  He is currently in size M or L shirts depending on brand and 10/12 pants which is usually L and size 12 khaki/jeans.  He is wearing size 2.5-3.5 youth shoes depending on the brand.

I’m not sure I’d say his food palette has expanded that much but I can say he has grown in accepting what is put in front of him and eating it without complaining as much as he used to.  Luckily for him nothing we serve is too adventurous so it shouldn’t be a stretch to eat anything.  He is eating less cereal for supper.

The list of activities Ralph is invovled in has not changed much in the last six months – basketball, cub scouts, and violin.   He is close to finishing his Webelo I year and next year will be his last year as a cub scout as he will crossover to a boy scout in a little over a year.  He is looking forward to his first cub scout overnight camp in July.   I will be attending with him; I am looking forward to the chance to unplug for a few days and have some one on one time with him during his free time.  He is interested in continuing with the violin and will attend the advanced SAIL camp this summer.  Its been great listening to him play and hear him getting better.  He hasn't played chess lately but chess club at school will be starting up again in about a month so he'll tune up his skills.  He wants to sign up for a chess class for one of his Bright Lights sessions this summer.

He doesn’t have a favorite movie; he likes watching various shows on youtube but doesn’t have a favorite show either.  Guess that is a "drawback" of not having much time to watch tv.  He has his favorite games he likes to play on the computer (Jailbreak), kindle (Angry Birds Epic), and Ninetendo 3DS (Kirby's Planet Robobot).

Ralph has a "thing" for rhyming phrases . . . like "you are as awesome as a possum" or "legit like an arm pit"

Ralph celebrated his 10th birthday by having a friend join him at Amazing Pizza Machine in Omaha.