Conway Turns 10

Conway is the big 1-0! A decade old! What?! He has amazing focus, strong opinions, and a consistent interest in the fairness of things, especially when they involve him. Conway requested Cajun shrimp, pesto pasta, and green beans for his birthday dinner, followed by a trip to Menchie's for his birthday dessert. And here's a bit more about ten-year-old Conway. He...

• can and will argue about anything and everything. It doesn't really matter the topic or the side. Maybe we have a lawyer on our hands?
• still loves to sleep and lists "resting" as one of his favorite things to do. Sometimes if he's feeling bored, he'll just go to his bed and take a nap. 
• isn't as into stuffed animals, but lists Cuggles the snow leopard and Molly the mongoose as his current favorites.
• is marginally better at getting out of bed in the morning. David has been showing sports highlights during breakfast, so that helps to motivate.
• has shifted from having mostly girls to mostly boys as his closest friends. He's also pretty independent, though, and will just do his own thing. 
• still isn't a huge fan of physical touch, especially from his brothers (who, to Conway's dismay, can't get enough physical touch). 
• is very specific and opinionated about the word choice of others and also continues to be selective in the words he actually hears. 
• has been enjoying a newfound independence by walking to the community center on his own to meet friends.
• could mostly do without playing with either of his brothers. See notes above about physical touch, consistent interest in fairness, and opinions about very specific word choice.
• can be both really sweet and really difficult to please. We're working on offering grace, being flexible, and knowing the difference between fair and equal. 
• loves soccer, basketball, baseball, skiing, and biking. Golf is not his favorite.
• has traded in his obsession with four-square after school for somewhat equal parts kickball, basketball, and some sort of hide and seek tag game with his friends.
• is still doing great in school. His ability to sit still and focus for long periods of time is definitely helpful in a classroom setting. He also seems to offer interesting thoughts in class discussions and is able to respect classmates' differing opinions. Who knew? He also still embraces a challenge and takes great pride in his work.
• is still very creative in his art and writing. He's fairly clever and adds interesting details or ways of phrasing things. 
• is still very focused on his style. He especially likes monochromatic looks so he can often be seen in head-to-toe hot pink or all black or all green, etc... He also loves to sport a suit and lots of layers of bling.
• got braces and is very diligent about keeping them clean. 
• says sausage, corn dogs, and French toast are his favorite foods and tofu and mushrooms are his least favorites.
• lists snow leopards, mongooses, and red pandas as his current favorite animals.
• still gives amazing hugs and snuggles in the rare instances when he's willing to give them. We absolutely soak them up when they're offered.

P.S. Conway Turns Nine, Parker Turns Ten