Calfgrit6 has always been an early riser. When he was a toddler he’d wake up at 5 a.m., and I’d put him in his stroller for a walk around the block before the sun came up. In the past couple of years, he’d wake up pretty regularly at 6 a.m.

We tried changing his bed time to later, but that made him wake up earlier. His normal bed time has been 7:30, and he’d wake up at 6:00. If we put him to bed at 8:00, he’d wake up at 5:30. Put him to bed at 9:00 and he wakes up at 4:30. Yes, that’s how it worked. The later he went to sleep, the earlier he’d wake up. It makes no logical sense, but that’s how it happened. Sadly, putting him down earlier than 7:30 also made him wake up earlier. We’ve talked with other parents and with his doctor, and we’ve learned this is not uncommon.

So we came to accept and work with his 6:00 a.m. waking time. In the past months, he’s matured enough that he can play in his room quietly in the morning. He’d wake up, put on his clothes, and come to our room to let us know he was awake. We’d tell him he could just play quietly in his room, and he cheerily do so. We’d get another half-hour of rest before he needed breakfast. (Calfgrit9 can easily sleep til 7:00, and later.)

This morning, Calfgrit6 woke up at 5:30, but he was not willing to play quietly in his room; he said he was hungry. We explained to him that we (Mom and Dad) don’t start our day before 6:00, and it was not time for breakfast, yet.

We’ve been through all this before — it’s not “morning” until 6:00, and we don’t fix breakfast before then. We had to set this rule a long time ago to stop him from thinking he could start our day as soon as he first opened his eyes. In the past, he has actually used the “I’m hungry; I need breakfast” call to make us start our day at 4:00 a.m. Once he learned that he couldn’t get us up and started before 6:00, (after we fell for the “I’m hungry” at 4 and 5 a.m. a couple times), he let himself go back to sleep if he woke up real early.

Setting the acceptable get-up time has taken a long while. We had to go through several frustrating early morning arguments, but that’s just how life goes with children. Set the acceptable rules, and then stick to them while the child tests, tests, and tests them to see that you really mean it. But once the child understands the rule is firm, he falls in line.

So, like I said, Calfgrit6 has been doing very well with the 6:00 day start time, for several months. He doesn’t bother getting up before 6:00, and even then he plays quietly in his room till 6:30 to 7:00 each morning. Our mornings have been relatively pleasant for a good while.

But then, this morning. He started saying he was hungry before 6:00. He started fake crying, in a loud, totally melodramatic way. His intention was to not let us ignore him until “morning.” He also knows that he can play us by threatening to wake up Calfgrit9 early — he doesn’t make a direct threat, but he knows we want CG9 to get enough sleep before school.

We have to stick to our rule, though, or else we’ll have to go through this routine every morning instead of just every once in a while when he wants to test our resolve.

Bullgrit

Our littlest calf turned 6 years old on Friday. Our baby is six! He’s in kindergarten, and he has a first loose tooth. The years go by so fast. (Regarding the loose tooth, coincidentally, Calfgrit9 also has a loose tooth.)

Strangely, Calfgrit6 didn’t want a birthday party. He just wanted a family dinner, including the grandparents. And gifts, of course.

On Friday, the date of his birthday, his mom took a chocolate chip cookie cake to his school for him and his classmates. That evening we let him choose what restaurant he wanted to eat at. We figured it would be either Ci Ci’s pizza buffet, Moe’s southwest grill, or Golden Corral buffet; his consistent favorites. But he chose Outback steak house. “Their macaroni and cheese is my favorite,” he said. Wow. That choice totally surprised us. We go to Outback once, maybe twice a year, (usually on *my* birthday).

The next day, Saturday, his grandparents came up to visit. We all went and watched his afternoon soccer game, and then we again let him choose were to go for dinner. And again he chose Outback. “Their macaroni and cheese is my favorite,” he restated. Wow, again.

I was excited. I was accused of paying him to pick Outback, but I swear I didn’t even so much as drop a hint.

A couple of days before his birthday, when we were trying to plan the days, he made the very mature decision to open his gifts after his soccer game. “I might get too excited by my new toys, and won’t be able to pay attention to playing soccer if I open them before my game.” He’s a smart little boy.

But on Saturday, when grandparents showed up with gifts, he couldn’t stand the anticipation. So, he wanted and we allowed him to go ahead and open his presents before his soccer game. To his credit, he managed just fine getting ready, going, and playing soccer that afternoon.

In so many ways, he’s showing some maturity — he’s becoming a big boy. And in so many ways, he’s showing how he’s really still a child. A sweet, lovable little child. A boy who loves Lego, horses, running and playing in the yard, and saying the word “fart” at every opportunity.

Bullgrit

Calfgrit5 started playing soccer a few weeks ago. His team has practice on Monday evenings, and games on Saturday afternoons. He was interested in trying the sport when we offered it to him several months ago — parents have to sign up their kids months in advance of the season — and he’s having fun with it now that he’s started practicing and playing.

Calfgrit9 played soccer when he was 4 and 5 years old, but he then lost interest in it. We got him on a t-ball team at 6 and 7 years old, but he lost interest in that, too. He now has no interest in any sport. (I’m not much of a sports guy, myself.)

Calfgrit5’s team, the Fusion, won their first game 12-0. Calfgrit5 said after the game that he wasn’t sure he liked playing it. He was disappointed that he didn’t score any goals for his team. I tried to explain the concept of team work, and how those who did score goals can’t do it all by themselves.

The Fusion won their second game 13-1, and Calfgrit5 personally kicked in one of those goals. After that game, he said he was liking soccer, and was excited to play again. Funny how scoring one simple goal, out of a dozen, can change a kid’s attitude.

During the second game, I talked with some of the other parents of our team about how our boys and girls were dominating. I mean, all the kids on both teams looked around the same age and size, and the boy-girl ratio was about even, (if gender matters for a team at that age).

I wondered if our team was really all that great, or were the other two teams really all that bad. During the first game, I hadn’t really noticed, (because I wasn’t looking for anything), but during the second game I saw how we had four really strong players, (3 boys, 1 girl) on our team. The other parents mentioned how those four players had been playing for two previous seasons.

The four ringers weren’t super stars or anything obviously over-the-top, but over the length of the whole game, you could see they knew what they were doing, and they knew how to do what they needed to do. The other kids, on any of the teams were not bad, but they were inexperienced compared to our four best players.

Then our most recent game, this past Saturday, the Fusion won by just 6-2. The other team gave them a real fight for that game. One of our parents expressed concern over how our kids will handle a defeat. “When it happens, it’ll be a tough surprise for them after winning so handily these times.”

Yeah, it’ll probably be a shock. Surely there’s a team in this league that’s as good as ours, (with our four experienced players). When will the Fusion go up against them? How will our kids take a loss after winning so much?

Bullgrit

I took my boys to Marbles Kid’s Museum on Sunday. It’s been wet around here for a few days, so they haven’t had much really active outdoor play lately. I had heard that Marbles is great for kid activity — Cowgrit has taken our boys before — but I had never been.

It’s an impressive place. There’s a lot of square footage full of kids play areas. At the back of the building is a big ol’ wooden ship, (well, the front half of a ship). After an hour playing around elsewhere in the museum, the boys wanted to go play in the “pirate ship.”

I sat down on a bench and partially nodded off on short naps while the boys ran and played through the ship with the other dozen or two kids. During my intermittent wakeful moments, I saw kids sweeping the decks, brushing the railings, and running in and out of the ship with odds and ends from a nearby “science submarine” play area.

At one point, I heard a little girl mention she was bringing something to the ship captain. After I gave up actually getting any kind of real nap sleep, I got up from my bench and went to explore this ship. I entered the lower deck to look around. The ceiling is only about 5 feet high, so I, (and the couple of other adults there), had to bend over pretty far to move around.

I heard another couple of kids say they were cleaning the ship for the captain. The thought ran through my mind, “It would be just like Calfgrit9 to assume the role of ‘captain’ with all these kids around.” He wasn’t the only 8-10 year old among all the 4-7 year olds, but he likes being in control.

I made my way up the stairs to the main deck. There’s a captain’s quarters at the back of the main deck, (with a third deck above that), and that’s exactly where I found Calfgrit9 sitting in state. He sat in a chair with his right arm propped up on a table beside him and his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles before him. He had the air of a monarch on his throne as younger kids came in and asked what he wanted them to do.

He directed one kid to run up the flag at the front of the ship. He told another to take something to the play area next to the ship. The kids immediately did as ordered. They all seemed to enjoy having duties, and Calfgrit9 surely enjoyed being in command of his domain.

I left my oldest boy to his command, and I roamed the main deck and above. Eventually, Calgrit5 came to me and complained that his brother wouldn’t let him be captain. “Daddy, come with me and let me be captain,” he said.

So I declared him my captain and asked for his orders. We went and checked the treasure map painted next to the ship’s wheel. He determined where we should navigate, and I stood at the wheel to steer us. He ran to the flag pole and ran up the ship’s colors. After that, we went to and fro about the ship’s decks doing the odds and ends that he thinks sailors do.

After a while, Calfgrit5 wanted to explore other areas of Marbles. I talked with Calfgrit9 about our intentions, and he wanted to stay on the ship for longer. We talked it out, and he would stay there at the ship, (continuing his captain role), while the little one and I went to the other areas of the museum.

Calfgrit5 and I worked with real tools in the woodworking shop area, and we played with the giant Lego blocks building and knocking down towers. When closing time approached, we went back and retrieved Calfgrit9 — he had played captain for two solid hours.

Fun was had by all. Calgrit5 got to experiment with many different activities, and Calfgrit9 got to be in command of a crew of pirates. I don’t know if Calfgrit9’s personality is a sign of being a future leader or a sign of megalomania.

Bullgrit