Will is ELEVEN!

Happy happy 11th birthday to Will.i.am today! 

Again, possibly jarring since I just did his (very belated) 10th birthday post... and also possibly jarring because I feel like this kid has grown sooo much the last year. 

So here's what you need to know about Will as an eleven-year-old: he loves comedy. He loves humor and jokes and figuring out what's funny and why. And he has the most infectious giggle ever. Chuck lets Will stay up late to watch funny youtube videos... just so Chuck can watch Will laugh haha. I've been printing my old instagram posts into Chatbooks and we take them to church for the kids to look at during sacrament meeting - but Will apparently finds me HI-larious (who could blame him??) and I generally have to shush his giggles a few times throughout the meeting. 

Will's future career plans change prettttty much daily, but 'sketch comedian' recurs regularly so thanks Studio C and JK! Studios ;). Still loves piano. Recently played "Fur Elise" at the ward talent show and reportedly did a-mazingly well. Wrapping up his stint in Cub Scouts, which has been a really positive experience for him. Continues to be a pretty devoted brother to all three of his siblings - one of his favorite things is going to the library with Clyde. Makes Carma chicken nuggets more often than I do. Shows consistently large amounts of patience with his bunkmate Jackers. Will probably does more chores around the house than any other child because it's never a fight for him to get up and start in on the chore when he's asked... is it somewhat of a fight to keep him doing the task because he's possibly VERY easily distracted? Um yes haha. But he generally has a good attitude when helping out :). He's still my favorite to tease just because he's so darlingly gullible - and again, his giggle when he knows I'm joking but I refuse to admit it is the best thing ever.

Will continues to not be super cuddly but he does love giving hugs... and squeezes haha. His go-to move is to come up and grab you around the waist and cheerfully exclaim "Here's a hug!.... and a squeeeeeeeze!" and then squeeze you for juuuust long enough that you are scared for your life.

Will is still a pretty hardcore creature of habit. He eats breakfast first. Then gets dressed. Don't even think about asking him to switch that routine up ;). He takes cold lunch everyday - the exact same thing: a Nutella sandwich, a string cheese, and a frozen go-gurt that thaws perfectly by lunchtime (and in the meantime, keeps the string cheese cold). 

Willy boy loves school and learning and storing everything he learns for future reference. 5th grade with Mrs. Keene has been wonderful this year. We're navigating some tough waters as he figures out how to balance his stimming vs. being present in the moment and also not wanting to alarm his classmates or cause them discomfort. Mrs. Keene brought up the possibility of Will sharing some information about autism with his class and Will went above and beyond - he created an amazing powerpoint and did a presentation about autism and self-stimulating behaviors and shared those aspects of himself SO bravely. I have VERY real intentions of having him recreate the presentation here at home so we can record it - someone hold me accountable for doing that pleeeeease. His friends and classmates reacted so well to the presentation and (cue alllll the crying emojis) voted for him to receive the "Courage" character award for their class the following month at school. 

Each of my kids' birthdates (like the days they were actually born...) are so incredibly special to me. I love remembering how anxious I was leading up to Will's birth and all of the fears and doubts I had about my ability to love and mother a second child as much as I did my first... and then Will surprising us and coming a few days earlier than anticipated... and how completely and hopelessly in love I fell with him as soon as I saw him. Right from the get-go, when he decided he'd rather not have an April Fool's Day birthday (although it would seriously SO fit his cute goofy personality!) he's been catching us off-guard and keeping us on our toes and we honestly wouldn't have it any other way. 

Happy happy eleventh birthday to my William Patrick. I feel like this coming year holds so much promise and so many milestones for this sweet boy and I'm so happy to be along for the ride.