Happy 7th birthday Camden Godfrey
Another year of craziness has passed. You’re a little taller, a little bigger, and a whole lot more rambunctious. Below are some of my favorite memories from the past year
Grandma’s house
In July we made our annual trip to visit Grandma in Seattle. As usual, all you really wanted to do was sit around eating goldfish crackers, drinking vanilla milk, and flipping through your Pokemon cards. And eating Little Caesar’s of course. OK, fine. But we’re doing other stuff too.
You protested, but genuinely enjoyed the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. And the baseball game. And the outdoor festival at the library. We even got you onto a miniature golf course, although you definitely had more fun playing on the obstacles than actually putting. Regardless, please try to remember how much fun you had next time you tell me that all my ideas are “trash.”
Delayed Gratification
There’s this thing called the marshmallow test. Basically, it shows that kids suck at resisting temptation — they choose a little bit of something now rather than a lot later. Actually, adults kinda suck at this too. But you? You my friend are a champion. One night at dinner you ate your vegetables, thereby earning a treat. You asked if you could save it for a future day. I said sure.
Day after day after day you kept rolling this treat forward. And talking about how you had an extra treat:
You: Well, even if I don’t eat these vegetables, I can still get a treat because I have an extra one
Me: That’s true
You: I think I’ll keep it.
You must’ve held that extra treat over my head for 2–3 months before you finally forgot about it. Which seems like a waste. Except…the joy you got from knowing you *could* have a treat was so much greater than the joy of actually having the treat. It’s like how people often like the anticipation of an upcoming vacation more than the trip itself. Or how parents-to-be think having kids will be so great until the kids actually arrive. (Just kidding. Sort of.)
Where was I? Oh yeah, you have good willpower I guess. Keep it up!
Eating
Speaking of rewards, I think I should be the one earning a treat for your vegetable eating. Watching you grind through 1–2 hours of gagging, complaining, and negotiating, all in the name of earning a single Starburst or small cookie is brutal. For you obviously, but even more so for me. “This is too much!” “Can I get a smaller treat if I eat half?” (smaller than a starburst?). “Can I have a different vegetable?” “It tastes horrible!” And you usually end up eating more ketchup, salt, and/or butter than the vegetable anyway.
In fairness, you’ve gotten better at either finishing in a less ridiculous amount of time, or simply forgoing the opportunity for a treat entirely. But it’s been a long, slow journey.
Carter & Friends
From the thing you hate to the thing you love — Your best friend, by a mile, is Carter Wells. Up until this whole covid-19 thing struck (more on that later), at least 70% of the words that come out of your mouth were “(when) can I have a play date with Carter?” At every school pickup, after every game, anytime Carter’s dad was within earshot.
And why not? Carter is super fun, super nice, and just plain super. He gives you Pokémon cards, wrestles with you, and has a dad who probably is a whole lot nicer to you than I am. One of the big bummers for me about this whole shelter in place is you not being able to spend much time with Carter and your other friends. Since your 6th birthday you’ve become a lot more social — starting with the Dad’s camping trip last year, and continuing through sports, school, and a lot more playdates with Alex, Lazlo and others. I’m really looking forward to getting you back out into other people’s houses. Soon.
Pokémon
There was a whole Pokémon section in your 6th birthday post, and the obsession roles on. You dressed as a Pokémon for Halloween and got a Pokéball painted on your arm. For Clara’s birthday you asked for a Pokémon stuffie. (Yes, you get gifts for each other’s birthdays. You can thank Grandma for that).
For Colt’s last birthday, you got a Pokémon almanac. Your nose was buried in that book for months. Scouring every detail of every Pokémon character’s strengths and weaknesses and, uh, whatever other info there is about Pokémon characters I guess. And marking seemingly every page with some strange color tagging system that I honestly don’t even want to try and understand.
Screens:
The only thing you seem to like better than Carter and Pokémon is staring blankly at a screen. Phone, iPad, computer, TV, whatever. As long as it’s backlit and spewing some type of mind-numbing content, you’re in. Now that your school is almost entirely on a computer, I’m more hesitant to allow additional screen time. But, as a counter weight, I do also value my personal sanity and the need to get my own work done in a house full of children.
I think any parent reading this has a pretty good idea which side of this struggle is winning.
Basketball:
You weren’t interested in playing Next Level basketball until you realized Carter Wells was playing, but you ended up having a blast. As usual, you put in tons of energy on defense, and as you can see from this photo your vertical is off the charts.
The big difference this year was your offense. On any dead ball you’d rush to the top of the key in hopes of getting the ball for the restart. And instead of always looking to pass, you’re dribbling and driving aggressively towards the hoop for the easy bucket!
Strange Talents:
Possibly your biggest source of pride is your ability to do strange things. You can curl your tongue, which isn’t super rare, but it drives your brother crazy (because he can’t do it). But you also can cross your eyes, which drives all of us crazy (and gives me a headache just watching). And you have this amazing ability to scissor your toes — bending your big toe almost vertical while pushing your little toes down the opposite direction.
The toe thing was actually a problem because you’d try to do it constantly even while wearing shoes. You’d scream in pain whenever I put you soccer shoes on, unless they were at least 3 sizes too big.
In the old days maybe you’d have joined the circus. Instead you’ll just have to settle for creeping the rest of us out.
Soccer:
Speaking of soccer, you played again on a team with Owen and his dad Coach Brian. I opted out of coaching this year, and you flourished without my lack of knowledge or skill holding you back. You still mostly focused on defense, but instead of just kicking the ball away you’d control it, turn the corner up the sideline and advance down the field. And you finally stopped begging to sit out extra time. You even asked to do some Force Soccer Pre-Academy clinics in the winter.
I have my fingers crossed (not everyone can cross their toes like you can) that we get to play soccer this fall. It feels like your break-out year is coming.
Flag Football:
Soccer is great, but football is football. (I guess technically soccer is also football, but this is ‘Merica, where only American tackle football is football, except for younger kids where flag football is football. Got it?)
Your team took a nice leap this year, finishing the season 3–4 and just missing the top-4 playoff bracket. Like last year, you were a threat to score every time you touched the ball. Unlike last year, you became a playmaker on defense. Diving to grab flags, playing your assignment, and even picking up a couple sacks on defensive blitzes. Mostly, your hustle paired with your natural ability makes you a joy to watch. And it certainly looks like you’re enjoying it too!
Sports Curiosity:
Sticking with the current sports theme, you’ve started asking a lot more questions about sports, and making more observations. During a football game you’ll ask “who was that penalty on?” In baseball, “why was that batter out?” I always kinda felt bad that, at least until coronavirus cancelled everything, sports were on the TV 24–7 and you weren’t ever really that interested (although obviously I didn’t feel bad enough to change the channel). I’m not sure if you’re genuinely more interested now, or just tired to not understanding what the heck is going on. But it’s exciting for me either way, and I’m looking forward to sitting down to watch some games together once sports come back.
Covid-19:
The coronavirus pandemic has been a bummer. Homeschooling has been rocky, and you often finish by 9am and find yourself pretty bored for the rest of the day. Youth sports have been cancelled which cost us almost the entire little league season. And you’re clearly missing your friends. But there have been some silver linings. Examples:
- You and Colt are closer than ever (for better or worse).
- Not being able to get a proper haircut has led to a gorgeous mop that has me beyond jealous.
- Best of all — You learned how to ride a bike!
The church parking lot across the street became your go-to place to ride and try new tricks and just burn off some energy after being stuck in the house for hours. Now of course you want to ride down the street or around the block. Thankfully there’s a lot less traffic than there used to be, which allows me to be a little less nervous when you pedal off out of site.
Gibberish:
You’re a pretty great kid. But if you twisted my arm and forced me to pick one thing about you that drives me completely insane it would be your love of making noise purely for the sake of making noise. It could be real words in a comical voice, or pseudo-words (also in a comical voice), or pained grunts, or ear-piercing screams. Or often a combination of these. I’ve resorted to asking you to leave the room, and ultimately sending you outside. So at least you’re getting some fresh air.
Role Model:
As I alluded to earlier, you’re probably the worst eater in the family (although Clara is definitely giving you a run for your money). But you’re also the most consistent at clearing your dishes when you’re done. And at putting your water back in the fridge. In fact, your manners overall have gotten pretty good, and you’re more likely than your siblings to ask nicely for something. I love that you’re setting an example for Colt and Clara on how to act.
Well, most of the time. After all, you do still torture Clara — deciding that whatever she’s holding is something you must have immediately. Or refusing to share whatever you’re holding when the reverse occurs. But the worst is when you say something she doesn’t like (a benign statement, a song, a strange grunt) and Clara inevitable screams “CAM, STOP SAYING THAT!” which you interpret as “please say that over and over and over — and smirk and dance while doing it.” This always goes over well.
I’d mention the things you and Colt do to torture each other, but that would be a whole other blog post. You know, like this one.
Learning:
Homeschooling aside — which, as I said, has been, just, ugh — 1st grade was a pretty great year. Mrs. Poeschl is a great teacher, you had friends like Lazlo and Diego in your class, and you started making a great transition from kindergarten to ‘real school’. You also took responsibility, usually completing your homework without me having to ask. And you’ve gotten into drawing, even creating a “How to draw” book, and sketching your favorite things — Pokémon of course!
A Milestone:
What birthday post would be complete without mentioning a critical milestone. In March you lost your first tooth! You were brushing your teeth, spit out the toothpaste and yelled “My tooth fell out! it’s in the sink!” We (and you) didn’t even know it was loose! Thankfully it wedged in the drain stop.
Another tooth got loose, and you’d make me cut up your eggs because you were worried about biting on it. But then of course you decided to pay “chubby bunny” with your brother — a game where the goal is to jam as many carrots as possible into your mouth. No surprise, this knocked out that second tooth. Which also led to this very pragmatic note to the tooth fairy
Stubbornness:
Or maybe you’re just very particular? Either way, once upon a time you refused to wear pants or sleeves or jackets no matter how cold or rainy it got. Then, you shifted your uniform slightly to long sleeves and shorts. Now, it’s still long sleeves, and either sweat pants or shorts with tights (or maybe long socks). Always. Even when swimming apparently.
I could go on. And on. And on. But I think we both know how stubborn you are, right?
Cards:
We’re big on games in our house. Sports, of course, but also board games, cornhole, the quiet game, the “see who can clean the fastest” game, etc. Your favorite is card games. First in was Uno, then last year you were all about Monopoly Deal. Now, you’re a Rummy man. Gin Rummy. For anyone reading this who doesn’t know what Gin Rummy, just ask your Grandma.
It’s always amazing (and very humbling) to see how quickly to pick up these types of strategy games. You’re competitive with Mom, Colt and me, and I assume we’re the single greatest collection of Rummy players ever assembled. I see big things ahead for you my son. Big things.
All in all a crazy year filled with growth, sports, learning, and little global pandemic to keep you on your toes. You’ve handled it all in stride — pushing through adversity, making the most of opportunities and finding those silver linings. There’s no other kid I’d rather be sheltered in place with. I’m excited for year #8 and everything it will bring. I love you so much. Happy birthday bud.
