The House of Anderson: Eight Years Old!

Keaton Ray turned 8 on Saturday!

Wait, how is it possible that I have an eight year old!

Halfway to driving??? Only a short decade from graduation???? NOOOOOO!

Seriously mom? Don't be sad. I'm only EIGHT years old!

And being EIGHT is GREAT!

Especially when you're smart...

Goofy...

And oh so handsome!

Here's Keaton in a nutshell right now:

What is your favorite thing to do? Look at new books

What do you want to be when you grow up? Secret Service Agent

What is your favorite food? Hamburgers

Favorite Song: "Once I was 7 Years Old "by Lukas Graham also "The Election of 1800" from the Hamilton Soundtrack

Favorite Movie: Little Rascals (1994 version)

Who do you like to spend time with? My cousins and my family

What do you do really well? Read

What makes you laugh? When Matthew talks funny, it cracks me up

What's the best time of your day? Mid-afternoon, when I come home from school

What are you afraid of? When I see snakes, because they give me the "heebie-jeebies." Also, being in a room that pitch black dark.

What do you like to do with your family? Movie Night!

What do you do love to learn about? History!

Where do you like to go? 2nd and Charles (Used books and Media)

What's your favorite book? Weird but True books, Picturepedia, Deadliest Things on the Planet, Capital Mystery Series

If you had one wish, what would it be? That my cousins were here every day

Keaton is having a wonderful year at school, and not just academically! I volunteer at his school weekly and eat lunch with him often. Almost every time I visit his school, one of the other teachers, counselors, classroom helpers, lunch ladies, or front office ladies will tell me what joy Keaton is. He is a good friend to his classmates, and praised by his teacher. I'm so thankful for this! Keaton and I are equally excited and terrified to try our hand at homeschooling next year. I'm pumped to be able to spend more of my day with this boy, and make some good use of that extra time by taking advantage of all the extra-curricular learning available in the DC area.

He is not playing a sport this spring, but loves getting out on his bike anytime he has a chance. Scott took the boys fishing last weekend, and Keaton is improving his cast each time. He's also about to graduate to Bear Cub in the next month!

We have seen some real spiritual maturity in Keaton over the last year, and its a blessing to watch your son express genuine interest in things of the Lord. He is halfway through the communicants class and will join our church this summer! I pray that his faith grows and grows.

He still loves history of all kinds, but has spent the majority of the last year becoming an expert on Presidents. For awhile there, he would bound downstairs every day with a new factoid that he learned in one of his personal library of president books. "MOM! Guess what?!! It's Martin Van Buren's birthday tomorrow!" Teddy Roosevelt is his favorite!

He gets a little annoyed when his teachers try teach him something in class relating to his field of study. I try to explain to him that not everyone is as well-versed in Presidential history as he is... "But GEORGE WASHINGTON??!! Who doesn't already know about George WASHINGTON!"

He's also gotten into writing poetry lately. Here's one of my favorites from St. Patrick's Day: