Happy 7th Birthday, Tate!

Tate’s 7th birthday is right around the corner. Therefore, as part of our parenting rituals, we write each child a letter on their birthday to encapsulate the past year. Then, it goes into their Easy-Peasy Scrapbook, along with approximately 10 photos. Happy 7th Birthday, Tate!

Tate’s Birthday Letter

Dearest Tate,

You continue to bring so much light into our lives! Your name means “cheerful,” and you definitely bring more cheer into our lives!

You constantly make us laugh by exclaiming things like, “My butt is one fire!” or changing the first letters on words, like, “Hi, Pommy” instead of Hi, Mommy. You use different accents all the time—especially a Texan accent. Here are some of the funny things you have said throughout the year:

• “I may not be old but I fight wisely.”
• Keeps repeating (in a Texas accent): “I’ve been a baaaaaaaad boy!”
• “There’s a tall boy who’s a magician and he uses a hoo-ly hoop…”  
• “I’m fine with hotdogs on a plate; I’m fine with hotdogs on a bun. I’m not fine with going out and doing something hard when I’ve already done something hard.” 
• “This thing is vulnerable. Seriously vulnerable.”
• Tate to Henry while Tate is being tied up: “Henry, you know when you tie me really tight it makes me angry and I can bust-out easier.”
• “Life is full of disappointments.”
• Tate to Sara while they were wrestling: “You don’t have enough hands to handle me!”
• Tate to Sara: “Don’t be so sad little girl, Pumpkin Pearl.”
• Tate to Henry who has an invisible ink pen: “Write the f word on my forehead.”
• Tate about camping in a Texas accent: “I’m not going to do the activities I’m just going to do random stuff. This is what camping is: you go, you setup your tent, you eat marshmallows. You frickin’ fart the most.”
• Tate looks in mirror at his hair: “Let’s see what we’re working with today.”
• “I’m not cute at all; I’m aggressive. Why don’t you just call me handsome?”
• “Tate: the humans try to take care of the dog. The dog takes care of himself.”
• “I wrote a book called Wandering with Werewolves. Then I made a Venn diagram comparing werewolves and humans.”
• “I’m like the Big Bang. Full of energy!”
• [Matt tried to kiss him on the cheek] Tate: “Jedi don’t kiss Jedi.” 
• Matt made Tate eat a Milky Way super fast because we were at the Getty Museum. Tate: “Can I have another bite? I didn’t get a chance to enjoy it because you made me shove it in my mouth.”
• Tate to Sara while she tried to get him to do his homework, “Stop being Umbridge!!!”
• “I don’t go hard on people. I never really unleash what I have.”
• Tate to Henry: “Deep inside yourself you must look!”
• “Did you know your penis is paralyzed? You can’t move it unless you shake your body. So it’s basically paralyzed.”
• “I don’t know why I have to go pee pee a lot. It’s just what I do.”

You still love to play dress up, and you get very creative with using dog leashes wrapped around your body as gun holsters. You ALWAYS wear your favorite watch (even to bed). It’s blue camouflage, and you make sure someone takes care of it when you take it off to go swimming. You are also meticulous about making sure your iPad is fully charged at all times. You like to be prepared, and you like to be on time.

During COVID-19, you are typically eager to get your work done right away so you can get extra screen time. You love downloading a free new game from the App Store approximately every five minutes. You are still a homebody and prefer playing dress up, building forts, building potions in the kitchen, or swimming above ever leaving the house. You love audio books, and your current favorite is the Harry Potter series. You love dancing around and putting spells on people.

We had a ton of adventures this year include an RV trip to West Texas, Thanksgiving at the beach in Florida, and a quick weekend trip to San Diego. Digging in the sand is one of your favorite pastimes. You also had a star role in Uncle Dustin’s wedding, which included pulling Baby Reece down the aisle in a wagon. You still love wearing Chacos and you never wear underwear or pajamas because they are “too hot.”

You are adored by your teachers, Mr. Jared and Ms. Lo. You come home smelling like Ms. Lo’s perfume every day because of all the hugs. Some of your best friends are Zoe, Juan, and Cub.

We are so grateful to have had this year with you, and we look forward to another amazing year coming up!

Thank you for bringing light into our lives,

Mama