Becoming a mom for the first time 9 years ago, especially to such a thoughtful, imaginative, smart, compassionate, active, inclusive, social, creative and loving kid, has been one of the absolute biggest blessings of my life.
Though I can still picture teeny tiny newborn Chase so vividly, 9 year old Chase is the best Chase yet. He’s his own little person with the most curious mind, loving heart, fun personality and immense passion for animals. He’s the biggest joy to talk to and has so many thoughts, questions and ideas he’s always willing to openly share. One of my biggest prayers is that he never stops talking to us and feels safe and comfortable sharing his feelings, thoughts and dreams within our home. Chase is chattiest about kid stuff throughout the day but Ryan and I will often hear about his deeper thoughts after his little brothers are in bed. While we know this talk time may be a bedtime delay tactic for Chase, we’ll take it over and over again if it keeps our relationship open and communicative as he grows older.
Chase will chat your ear off about animals and we joke that if we ever want to know a random fact about basically any living creature on the planet, we can just ask Chase. He absorbs animal facts like a sponge and there is truly nothing he would rather do in the world than catch and release creatures all day long. Whether it’s fishing, catching lizards in Florida or grabbing a crayfish or salamander right out of a stream, he’s all about it!
Chase continues to be the social extrovert he was as a toddler and he makes friends easily wherever he goes. His imagination is amazing and seems to attract kids he doesn’t even know his way. I’m telling you, whether we’re at a park, a playground, or any public place, Chase will somehow end up with a handful of kids playing whatever game he’s concocted in his mind at the moment. I’m proud of how inclusive he is with other children, and I think he has a gift for making his peers feel at ease around him.
We adore Chase’s friends and recognize we’re lucky in this, as he seems drawn to kids who are kind, love the outdoors and enjoy running around and playing whatever games they come up with that day. Chase is about to enter third grade which means we’ve had some random things pop up regarding some trickier things he’s felt or witnessed among classmates which has opened the door to some more important conversations about choosing friends who make you feel good inside and who allow you to be fully you without feeling self-conscious or like you need to act in a way that makes you uncomfortable, etc. Thankfully he’s naturally done this so well and I pray it continues.
At nine years old, it feels like we’re squeezing every inch out of childhood innocence that we can at this point. I’m all about extending the beauty and wonder of childhood as long as possible and thankfully Chase is still embracing so much of the stuff that makes childhood so special. He loves exploring outside, swimming in the pool for hours, playing endless rounds of Moss (a football game he learned at school that he is obsessed with), curling up with me and Ryan to listen to the latest Percy Jackson book, fishing, playing with his brothers and friends, getting Pepper all riled up at the end of the day, riding his bike, painting, reading his latest favorite graphic novel, making amazing creations with Picasso Tiles, listening to his favorite podcasts, building with Legos, his leopard gecko Lucky, making loom bracelets and melty bead creations, and our family movie nights.
With the start of the school year only a week away, school is top of mind in our house at the moment. Thankfully Chase genuinely loves school, his teachers and his classmates. He says his favorite subjects are math and science and this does not surprise us at all as he’ll often quiz us on math facts from the backseat of the car. (As someone whose strength was never math in school, this is a joy. Ha!) He also loves teaching his brothers about math and already has Ryder adding numbers together before kindergarten begins for him this fall.
As for activities, this year he was all about martial arts, basketball and piano. He wanted a break from soccer after a not-super-great experience in a local rec league last spring but asked to sign up again this fall. His heart is all-in at our local martial arts studio and I cannot sing the praises of martial arts enough, not only for the physical skills he’s learning but also for the topics discussed and the emphasis on respect, self-discipline, healthy choices (mentally and physically), etc. Chase and Ryder are determined to earn their black belts and we’ll be cheering them on all the way as long as they’re still into it!
Big Brother Chase
I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on big brother Chase in this space because that’s a huge part of his identity in our home. Chase honestly has an incredible demeanor and I fully believe he is the very best possible big brother to Ryder and Rhett who think he’s their sun, moon and stars.
He’s immensely imaginative and creative which is a gigantic gift to our whole family, as he’s always coming up with fun games and ideas that immediately intrigue his little brothers and captivate their imaginations, too. It makes free play in our home happen constantly and we try hard to have a lot of unstructured play time incorporated into our daily life. Chase is a wonderful playtime ringleader has absolutely helped cultivate a love for the outdoors, imagination and animals in Rhett and Ryder. Our three boys and the relationship they share with each other is truly one of the biggest joys for me to witness as a mother and I pray hard that they remain close and know they can rely on each other for anything their entire lives.
Though all three boys play together, the one-on-one dynamics Chase has with Rhett and Ryder vary a bit based on their personalities and age differences. Chase and Rhett have more of a teacher-friend-brother relationship where Rhett idolizes Chase and loves it when Chase takes him under his wing, shows him new things and incorporates Rhett and Rhett’s ideas into playtime. Though their relationship is not without friction at times, it’s so sweet to watch as it’s often more nurturing and loving.
Chase and Ryder have more of a friend-brother relationship and it’s filled with belly laughs, creativity, competition, physicality, imagination, exploration and so much love. Chase, being three years older than Ryder, is still very much the leader but he also frequently embraces Ryder’s ideas and input. He’s quick to build Ryder up and Chase and Ryder together never ever run out of things to do or ways to play together. When Chase comes home from school, he immediately looks for Ryder for play and knows he has a great built-in buddy who shares so many of his interests.
Of course three young kids under one roof means daily life can feel chaotic and crazy especially when those three kids are boys with a seemingly never-ending well of energy. Sibling battles still happen every single day in our house, often times multiple times a day, but they also often self-resolve at this point. Oh but you better believe nothing boils my blood more than when the boys start going at each other and intentionally do things to get under their brothers’ skin. They ALL do this and know each others’ pressure points very, very well. I swear sometimes it seems like they delight in figuring out how to annoy each other repeatedly until they get the biggest reaction possible. But ya know what? I vividly remember doing the same to my sister.
As a mother, though, it’s frustrating and sometimes I feel like I’m talking in circles when we discuss boundaries, respecting each other, creating a space in our home where people feel safe and loved, using our words to express ourselves and stop something we don’t like, etc. And the competition aspect of their relationship is something we’re constantly navigating and I’ve had to put a moratorium on races in our house before because they were turning everythinggg a race and it was exhausting and never ended well. Just when I thought some of the frustrating things about babies and toddlers were gone from my life, this kind of stuff pops up and humbles me REAL fast.
I know sibling battles are normal (and even helpful in some cases) but the love the boys have for each other far, far outweighs any of the picking at each other they may do from time to time. More often than not, when we’re planning something fun or want to do something new with the boys, if we ask if they want to do it with friends or “just our family,” they opt for our family and genuinely love being together. While I know it’s only natural for friend relationships to increase further in importance as the boys grow up, I pray our family forever remains who they look to most for love, support, fun, encouragement and a safe place to land at the end of the day.
RANDOM THINGS TO REMEMBER
- Favorite Foods: Ice cream, popsicles, pizza, apples, strawberries, watermelon, donuts, macaroni and cheese, cucumbers, carrots, burgers, chocolate chip cookie dough Larabars, cheese, honey butter toast, waffles, pancakes, peaches, green beans, yogurt
- Favorite Color: Blue
- Favorite Books (to read with us): Percy Jackson
- Favorite Books (to read on his own): Dragon Masters, Arcade World, Press Start, InvestiGators
- Favorite Podcasts: Greeking Out, Stories Podcast, Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, What if World
- Favorite Songs: He loves electronic dance music the most right now! Basically anything fast with a beat!
- Favorite TV Shows: Octonauts, Wild Kratts, Creature Cases, Spidey and His Amazing Friends
- Favorite Animals: Penguin, birds of prey (especially bald eagles), any kind of lizard
- Wake Up Time/Bed Time: Chase typically wakes up around 6:30-7 a.m. and goes to bed around 8:30-9 p.m.
LIKES
- His friends and family
- Animals
- Fishing
- Catching and releasing creatures
- Kayaking
- Playtime outside
- Riding his bike
- Swimming
- Martial Arts
- Soccer
- Piano
- Imagination Games
- School (especially science and math)
- Legos
- Building with Picasso Tiles
- Listening to his favorite podcasts
- Urban Air Trampoline Park
- Playdates with friends
- Family movie night
9 Year Old Favorites
Past Chase Updates
