If there was ever any doubt that fall has started, it’s the first virus of the season. I apologize for the ghosting over the last few days as I took care of a sick boy, while still trying to get myself back in the swing of working full time.

From time to time, I like to gather a few things that feel unique to each kid and share them as quick takes. It’s my way of capturing a bit of their personality as they grow up. Little Harrison doesn’t mispronounce things very often now, but there is definitely things that feel so uniquely Harrison that I want to remember them for forever.

-1- Harrison is my competitve kid. He is interested in EVERY sporting event. I remember wondering in school gym class how there seemed to be children that just naturally were already so good at playing sports, when I myself had never played sports before being forced to play them in gym. And then I had a child that was interested in sports from the moment he could walk – and I got it.

He wants to know who is playing every sporting event, who each person is cheering for, and what colors each team is wearing. Every. Single. Game.

-2- Speaking of competitive, his obsession with winning extends to which team he cheers for in a game. He HATES losing, so usually will flip flop what team he’s cheering for based on who is winning.

-3- Every game he watches, he likes to build the players out of his counting blocks based on their uniform colors, and then proceeds to play the game with his players while watching the game on TV. This child could not be more different than me growing up if he tried.

-4- He’s five years old, and believes himself to be pretty much completely devoid of the need of parents. He informed us going into Kindergarten that once he was in Kindergarten that he “wouldn’t need us anymore.” Except for a ride to school…and to make his food…and do his laundry…and buy him things. But everything else, he’s got covered.

-5- Aidan is his “favorite” because he’s the “softest” member of the family. That baby skin speaks to Harrison’s love language.

-6- As if it was ever in question, Harrison’s favorite subject in school is “gym.” He has a particular fondness for all of the elementary school games he’s learning: kickball, dodgeball, and something called “toilet tag.” Sounds like a winner with the elementary school crowd if I’ve ever heard of one.

-7- His favorite shows to watch right now are Spidey and the Chiefs vs. Broncos game that’s a recording from last year’s game. He narrates this game as though it’s the first time he’s ever watched it, and that no one has seen the ending. But he’s well aware of who wins the game. 🙂

I love my little sports obsessed boy.

If you’re new here, you’re probably wondering what “quick takes” are exactly. I like to jot down things that are making me laugh or smile about each boy every once in awhile and commemorate them in a blog post. They are little reminder and windows in time of their personalities, the things that they are interested in, and the absolutely adorable things they say at these ages.

It’s almost Harrison’s half birthday, and that always seems like a good time to commemorate the little things I’ve jotted down about him.

-1- The things he’s dreaming about being lately include a soccer player, but only for Chelsea FC, a tree cutter, and a mommy and daddy.

-2- We signed an incident report that he forcibly removed a “friend” from the teacher’s chair because the rule is you don’t sit in the teacher’s chair. After reminding his “friend” of the rule, and them not complying, he took matters into his own hands.

-3- If anything is any object is on the floor, it gets kicked by our soccer player. All toys are treated as soccer balls, dropped items in the kitchen, shoes sitting on the floor…all kicked.

-4- When I pick up Harrison from school, I ask him what was one nice thing that he did for a friend that day. And he without fail replies, “Uhhhh. I forgot to do anything nice.” And then after a couple more seconds, he asks me to offer suggestions of ways he may have been nice that day and not realized it, so that he can get appropriate credit for his kindness.

-5- I do not know what is happening inside his classroom, but every one of his friends calls him “Harrison Thomas.” I can only imagine that he is declaring himself Harrison Thomas over and over again to his friends.

-6- He refers to the cartoon dog Bluey as Gluey.

-7- Before he goes to sleep at night, I tell him, “I love you so much. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” And right now, he replies, “Mommy. I love you so so so so much. You’re the goodest Mommy.”

I can’t believe that I’ve been doing this motherhood thing for four and a half years already. What an absolute blessing this boy has been to me.