Howard Trio Plus One: Eight-Years-Old

Eight. This age seemed like a lifetime away when Alexis, Jack, and Faith were born, yet somehow we are here already! In the fall they will start 3rd grade. But as unbelievable as it is that they have already been in our lives for 8 years, it’s also hard to remember them as younger versions of themselves. I’m so thankful for my old blog posts and Facebook posts as, without them, I don’t think I’d remember anything!

Family vacation in Hilton Head

Alexis

Faith

Jack

The 8th year of their lives was unusual. COVID had a huge impact on our daily lives as it limited our outings and interactions with others. We were used to going to school, going to church, going to others’ houses for church Community Group and play dates, and going to fun places like the zoo, Botanic Garden, and parks. With COVID we were cautious. Compared to what we used to do, we have hardly been anywhere in the last year. The funny thing is that we have all become accustomed to staying home, and now I forget that there are a lot of places that we can explore in the area.

Of course, besides the pandemic, our lives also looked different because we moved across the country to northern Virginia last summer. We were fortunate to be greeted by friendly neighbors, which helped us feel at home very quickly. Alexis, Jack, and Faith have enjoyed playing with the other kids on our street, especially during the fall and winter when the local school was still 100% virtual and sports weren’t really happening. They played hours of four square, kickball, and other outdoor games with the kids in our culdesac.

Since we moved right before school started, and we weren’t sure what school would look like in our new area with COVID, we decided to homeschool. In a way, it felt like we got to take a step back and just let them be kids again. We did about 4 hours of school a day, and then they had a lot of free time to play, read, and play outside with the neighbor kids. Although having triplets obviously has its challenges, I have been very thankful that the kids have each other during the pandemic. They do fight like other siblings, but they also spend hours at a time playing well together.
Although we plan to send them to the local public school in the fall, homeschool was definitely the right decision for us last year. I enjoyed being very involved in their learning, and we were able to do many things that they won’t get to do in public school (daily Bible lessons, cursive, watching random videos to figure out answers to questions they asked, etc.). I will miss teaching them, but I’m also ready for a break after spending almost every day with them since March 2020. And I think it will be good for them to learn from others and spread their wings a bit.

Faith

Alexis

Jack

Building 3D shapes outside

Alexis

Faith

Jack

Jack's LA worksheet for the day. I loved his drawings.

In Albuquerque we spent a lot of time at the climbing gym, and we spent many weekends climbing. The kids and I haven’t climbed at all since March 2020, because of COVID and moving (there are climbing gyms here, but we haven’t made the effort to go). The kids also usually ski every winter as they've been doing it since they were 4-years-old, but it didn't work out to go this year. They noticed that neighbor kids were doing organized sports, and they were interested in trying them. This spring we signed Jack up for Little League, and Alexis and Faith signed up for soccer. Organized sports were a hit! All three kids looked forward to every practice and game, not only for the sports, but also for the social aspect.

Micah has taken them running several times (and I ran with them as well, before I got injured)

We have gone on numerous family bike rides this year.

Here are some other things about Alexis, Jack, and Faith at age 8.

Reading: All three are avid readers. Jack is working his way through the Harry Potter series and both girls read all 60+ books of the Puppy Place series. I often find them reading on the couch at random times throughout the day. Jack is an earlier riser, so he likes to read or draw if he wakes up before the rest of the family. The girls like to wake up a little later and then read in bed. All three enjoy reading before bed every night.

A common sight

Faith reading in bed on her last night of being 7

Alexis reading on her last night of being 7

Jack on his last night of being 7

Siblings: Graham is playing with Alexis, Jack, and Faith a lot more these days. He joins in with their pretend play and tries playing actual board games with them. Although they definitely get annoyed by their (sometimes demanding) little brother, all three are also quite patient with him. Alexis, Jack, and Faith play well together a lot of the time, but in the last year I've noticed that quite often two of them will be playing together while the third one is doing their own thing. I'm glad that they are finally learning how to be alone as they have always had each other as entertainment. Plus, it must be tiring always having your siblings around.

Easter Sunday

Cousin Kinsley, Faith, Graham, Alexis, Jack

Music: Jack started taking virtual violin lessons in August. He mostly has enjoyed learning the violin and when he's really enjoying it he'll practice without any prompting. The girls have continued to learn songs on the piano, with me as their teacher. I hope to find them an actual teacher soon, though, as my elementary school piano skills are quite rusty and they probably aren't progressing as quickly as they would with a "real" teacher.

Pretend Play: I am still surprised by how well they play together most of the time. They love to create things to go along with their games, and they really get into their play. The only downside is that they are always creating a bit of a mess, and there is usually some grumbling about picking up after themselves.

Faith drew Dr. Suess characters on the driveway

Graham and Jack in homemade mustaches

Alexis playing a game in the backyard

Dog Lovers: I honestly don't think I've ever met anyone who loves dogs as much as the girls do. Jack and Graham both enjoy dogs too, but Faith and Alexis LOVE dogs. They know the neighbors by the dogs that live at the house. Unfortunately Jack has a fairly severe dog allergy, but it seems inevitable that we will get a dog some day.

Outgoing Personalities: I can't get over how unafraid my kids are to talk to adults, both those they know and those they don't. I was definitely a shy child, and it amazes me that they run up to random people to ask them questions, especially if a dog is involved. Jack tends to hold back a bit more than the girls, but all three are excited to meet new people.

Lost Teeth: Faith has now lost 8 teeth, Jack has lost 6 teeth, and Alexis has lost 7 teeth (although 2 of those have been lost since her birthday!). Jack visited the orthodontist last week and the girls will go for the first time in a couple of weeks. Jack will probably have braces in the next year.

Birthday Celebration

The kids and I went to Michigan at the end of May / beginning of June, and Micah helped us drive home the day before the kids' birthday. That meant that we were home on their actual birthday, but I was exhausted from the drive and Micah was taking a class from home that week. We squeezed in birthday activities when Micah had breaks in his class, so they opened a couple of gifts in the early morning and they opened the rest mid-morning. At lunch time they quickly decorated their own cakes, and then we sang and ate cake. I took the kids swimming at our pool in the afternoon, and then they had their first swim team practice in the evening. We ate a late pasta dinner (that Micah cooked while I took the kids to swim practice), and then we ate more cake and played outside for awhile. It was an odd birthday in some ways, but the kids still had fun and felt celebrated. The two big surprises on their birthday were that I had ordered a large yard sign that was put up during the night while the kids slept, and that I had organized for us to dog sit for 10 days at our house (the closest we can get to having our own dog right now). We also had an early birthday celebration for the kids with my family while we were in Michigan.