Troyer Party of 9: The BIG 10 !!!!

It's hard to believe we have 3 in double digits. I guess we're getting old!!

What's not hard to believe is that Cooper is a 10 year old. We often have to remind ourselves that he is a full 2 years younger than Wyatt.

Our oldest 3 do so well together. Cooper fits right in and has for such a long time. He's easy going and smart and just all around a good sport which is necessary in a big family and sometimes the glue that I think makes that whole thing work. We've loved watching the friendships between these 3 grow over the years and have often been quite amused by the many dynamics at play. If we're being honest "Queen Bee" as we've taken to affectionately calling Sadie and "Our Passionate little Squirt," Wyatt, have days when they're A LOT!!!! A LOT!!!! Cooper on the other hand is rarely phased by their shenanigans, though often a part of them. He just laughs, sometimes pokes at them a bit, and then does his thing until they come back down to earth. His quiet confidence and wonderful sense of humor are easily some of our favorite things about him.

His teacher this year says her challenge is to keep him challenged because while he's a kid through and through loving football and soccer and friends and recess, he'd also rather be doing a challenging math worksheets than playing a game or having free time during class. We're learning that what's easiest about Cooper is also often what is most challenging. Because he's so easy going he requires quite a bit of pursuing. He's not a hugger or needy in any way but he still appreciates a hug if it's not in public, and he loves a minute or two uninterrupted to share what he knows about rocks, or football, or literally a million other things. I've decided he's already way smarter than me in so many areas. :)

We got Cooper a rock tumbler for his birthday. It was really hard to read his response. He'd been really interested in rocks when they studied them at school last year but didn't seem to excited about his gift.

After donuts for breakfast we took the rest of the kids to school and then I ran Cooper up to Dutch Bros for his birthday drink and took him to school a few minutes late. I was kinda bothered when I dropped him off because, as I've already mentioned, he's easy going but also REALLY HARD to read. He said he wanted Dutch Bros but didn't really drink any of it in the car, and then I wasn't able to celebrate his birthday with him at school because the babies were STILL sick so Grammy couldn't watch them. He of course said that was fine but you really never know!!!!

Thankfully he as a great teacher who was willing to send me some photos of his celebration at school!

And when he got home he sat down right away and started reading about the different kinds of rocks that came with his tumbler and getting everything set up. So he liked it. Maybe just a little bit tired. :)

Yep his candle is in a grilled cheese sandwich. :) By the end of the day he'd decided he'd had enough sweets and wanted to save his ice cream treats for another day. Again pretty mature for a 10 year old. :)