And Then He Turned 8

Luke Dawson, also known as Lukey or Lukey-Duke turned eight Wednesday. Eight! Can we just pause and reflect on that information?My BABY is EIGHT.

Yes, knowing my youngest is eight does make me freak out a little. Having an eight and eleven year old seems to catapult me into a whole different parenting bracket. Nobody in this family is even close to a toddler. I’m definitely not the “young mom” anymore.

It’s bittersweet. It makes me realize just how fast these years go by. (Wasn’t I pregnant yesterday??) What I really want, more than anything, is to appreciate and love every stage as we’re in it, not constantly yearning for the stages that pass or waiting for the next stage.

So Luke is eight. A second grader. This is actually a very lovely age. He’s old enough to be quite independent, yet still needs me (yes, sometimes in the middle of the night. Still.)At this moment in his life, he loves to read, play board games, and study fancy cars. He tells me when he grows up he’s going to invent a laundry folder and become a billionaire. Yes, son, that invention could be a hit. I’ll be your first customer because this mama hates folding laundry. Go for it! His favorite sports are tennis and soccer, which are two sports Tim and I never played. We really try to let our kids find what they love without us pushing them into what WE love, so it’s interesting to see our second child going his own way like his sister did. He also plays basketball, baseball, and golf–he likes to try it all.

Luke hates being the center of attention and it’s hard to catch him in the right mood where he’ll let me take a picture of him. Usually I have to sneak pictures when he’s not looking. This is a stark contrast to his sister who is always camera-ready, as you can see in the background of this picture. 

He dislikes being the center of attention or even put on the spot so much that he hesitates to ever wear any clothes with any words or pictures for fear someone might ask him about it. His preference is plain, solid colors. I discovered Primary.com and it’s been perfect for him and super easy shopping for me.

Even though he can be shy around people he doesn’t know, when Luke’s comfortable and around family or close friends, he’s goofy, fun, and always ready to quiz you to see if you can keep up with his trivia knowledge (we can’t).

I have no doubt that God has big plans for this boy and just love being his mama. Thanks for letting me use this space to record our life, along with sharing my healthy living tips and recipes. If you’d like to read more life updates, check out this page.