I'm over a month behind, but here is my long annual post about Briggs and all the things that make him who he is at 8. Briggs is 53 lbs (32nd percentile) and 4'2 (54th percentile). He currently wears his size 6/7 and 7 clothes, but I need to get out his summer 7/8 clothes soon. He wears size 1 shoes. Briggs has an upper retainer, upper braces, and a lower expander. He is in Mrs. Beachy's second grade class. Over this past year, he has played one short season each of baseball, soccer, and basketball. He takes piano lessons, goes to Wednesday night Kids Connection at church, and is involved with NTA's Stage Kids and Rising Stars programs. Briggs goes to bed around 8:00 and wakes up around 7:00.
My boy and his braces.
Likes: Briggs continues to enjoy play activities that involve vehicles or building. Legos are a favorite! He still also likes his Magna Tiles, train sets, and matchbox cars. He enjoys crafts (especially Perler Beads), drawing, painting, and writing/illustrating his own books. He is always listening to audiobooks in the playroom as he plays with the first 3 Harry Potter books as recurring favorites. His Harry Potter Lego sets are also top of his list of favorites.
Perler bead fun in the playroom.
Briggs is a great reader. He enjoys reading and has a variety of series that he is reading. He has recently gotten into reading graphic novels with Wings of Fire, Heroes in Training, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dogman, and Dragon Kingdom being recent graphic novel series of choice. He also enjoys reading 'I Survived', 'Dragon Masters', and any other short series he finds at the library with dragons, dinosaurs, mysteries, or adventure. He prefers shorter books, getting intimidated by books that look too long. He often has multiple books going at once and it's not uncommon for him to start a book/series and not finish it.
Briggs enjoys playing outside. Riding his scooter, sidewalk chalk, and looking for insects are favorite outdoor activities. Board games are another preferred activity with Spot It, Dragon Realm, and Stratego among his favorites. Briggs still gets nervous about movies he's never seen and does not like anything with scary parts, people dying, or bad guys. Episodes of Bluey are favorites, and he prefers movies that he's seen before. Typically animated movies are his choice.
He's also a great hiker!
Briggs has lots of friends that he enjoys playing with at school, the neighborhood, and church. Friends he plays with the most include George (school), Coraleigh (neighborhood), and Landon (church). But at home, his favorite playmate is Adelie. They have lots of fun together. He also loves it when Staley plays with them too, but that occurs less often.
Adelie and Briggs are good buddies! This is the audiobook Adelie made of herself reading a few of Briggs' original book series, "Briggs the Hero," that she gave to him for his birthday.
Briggs is generally a pretty good eater. When I am making something he likes, he will often out-eat most of the family. Meatballs, hamburgers, tacos, and pancakes are all favorites. As far as clothes, Briggs prefers athletic pants or athletic shorts with t-shirts. Fleece footie pajamas are his pajamas of choice. And if Briggs is wearing something with a hood, he always wants the hood up. Always.
Dislikes: Briggs has quite a list of things that he doesn't like, and he is not shy about letting us know. He does not like to be woken up in the morning, to be rushed, to have to stop playing to go to an activity or obligation, the way certain clothes feel at certain times (including tags), going upstairs or to the basement by himself, being asked to clean up or do his chores, scary things or bad guys in movies, and generally anything that breaks up his routine or preferences. Briggs is a creature of habit, so changing that up can be hard for him. Briggs is also cautious and doesn't always like to try new things that make him unsure, like the zipline at Elevate or riding his skateboard standing up. However, once he's tried something once and realized he can do it, he generally doesn't hesitate to do it over and over and over again.
There are many things Briggs doesn't like. Riding on a train of any kind is not one of them.
Skills: Briggs is great at building Legos. He can follow the directions to build large sets without any help (and quickly) but is also good at building his own creations. Building Magnatile creations or cities out of blocks and tracks are other areas of expertise. He is also very good at making his own Perler bead creations without a pattern. I think he might have a mechanical mind like his dad.
Legos are so fun!
Although Briggs doesn't have a lot of interest or expertise in playing ball sports, he runs quickly, rides his bike well, and can go fast on his scooter. He doesn't love to practice his piano, but continues to make progress and is about halfway through his second set of books. He is very independent with his daily activities including taking his allergy meds, brushing his teeth, and making simple meals. He has used Staley's cook books a few times to make treats or part of a meal for the family with just a little help knowing how to read the different measuring spoons and cups. He is not always great about doing chores or cleaning up without reminders, but he is definitely capable.
Getting out the toys is easy. Cleaning them up is not nearly as much fun.
Briggs is a good reader and seems to have a good math mind, doing mental math to figure out things like how much time until bedtime or how much money 2 things will cost. He does well in school with his last standardized test scores in reading at the 94th percentile and math scores at the 82nd percentile.
Creative and smart is a good combination.
Personality: Briggs is a very dichotomous boy. On the one hand, he is very sweet and loving and wants to do what is right. On the other hand, he has a very short temper and continues to be prone to fits of yelling or door slamming or hitting when things don't go his way. He does calm down more quickly now and apologize more sincerely after these outbursts, but they are still occurring on a semi-regular basis. He also has a squirrely side and knows how to push buttons.
He definitely has a goofy, silly side too.
As mentioned before, Briggs remains a creature of habit and cautious by nature. He likes things to be the same and does better with routine and knowing what to expect. He likes to talk through scenarios and ask lots of questions, but I love how his mind works as he sorts things through in his mind. Briggs is also developing a deeper understanding of faith and says more heartfelt prayers and asks more faith-based questions.
Briggs has a very sweet nature and likes to please others. He is a good friend and plays well with a variety of kids, both boys and girls. He is very proud when he surprises me by cleaning up his room or the playroom or loading the dishwasher without being asked. He likes to make gifts for others, and he never wants to hurt someone's feelings. He has a sensitive side that makes him very empathetic towards others. I love Briggs' heart and his mind and his personality.
I sure do love this boy!
