Dallin turned 8 years old on May 18, 2021.
We hosted a pool party to celebrate! Despite the pandemic, most people that we invited were very eager and ready to be at a party- especially a pool party because many public and gym pools were closed.
We kept things super simple. Play in the pool, eat lunch (pizza, veggies and fruit), play some games as a group in the pool (with water guns and squishy pool balls), eat ice cream cake, play more in the pool. In leui of presents, Dallin agreed to do a fiver party, which is where guests that want to bring a gift simply bring $5 to go toward one big gift for the birthday kid.
The kids had a great time and all got along really well. We were all just so happy to be together and to celebrate our amazing Dallin.
One of the games was to shoot water at a target with our water guns. The water would pour into a jar and make a ping pong ball rise out of it as the water filled the jar. The kids worked as a team , but once the ball got to the brim, it would not fall out of the jar like we thought it would. Finally, we realized that it was physically impossible. Jeremy joked that we were teaching the kids that sometimes in life you really have to just give up. And you know what? All joking aside, it’s true. Quitting is often a good thing. We often need to stop and change course. It’s really unfortunate that we give so much stigma to quitting.
Dallin suggested we make a cake that has a picture of him jumping into the pool. We weren’t able to get a picture of him, but I found a clipart kid that looked a lot like him. So printed it out and taped it to a cake stick. It looked pretty cool!
Dallin is the kid standing to our left of the cake, with Tanner by his side.
For Dallin’s birthday service, he wanted to spend time with his Great-Grandpa Davidson. He heard that Grandpa’s eyes were not doing well, so Dallin wanted to help him in some way. He ended up being Grandpa’s golf caddie! Dallin set the tee up with the ball every time so that grandpa didn’t have to. He carried his clubs to and from the golf cart and Dallin even drove the golf cart.
Tanner kept score for everyone. He did a really great job.
Also as part of his birthday service, Dallin made this for Grandma Sharon to have for Mother’s day.
We spent the afternoon watching a Dodgers game (Sharon loves the Dodgers). The boys had fun talking to her about different players and their stats.
Now for the section to talk ALL ABOUT DALLIN
Highlights and Lowlights for Dallin while he was 7 years old:
– Endured all the doom of Covid
– Read tons of Minecraft books, magic treehouse, bailey school kids and nearly every Peanuts comic ever made
– Went to Lake Tahoe, got good at kayaking
– Learned how to dive properly
– Went to Colorado, first time tubing on a boat
– Got better at golf
– Accomplished his goal to make jam with Papa
– Started 2nd grade online. Hated it
– Did homeschool for the rest of the year, sort of hated it, sort of liked it
– Made a new friend
– Got a bigger bike
– Almost beat Bowser in Nintendo
– Broke his first bone
– Had his first surgery
– Grew to size 2.5 shoe
– Went to Texas and had brisket for the first time
– First time to Mexico, enjoyed Mayan ruins and cenotes. Did not like snorkeling
– Memorized the 13 Articles of Faith
– Cuddled with mom nearly every morning and night
Dallin is silly, kind, smart, and easy-going. He is very helpful. I can still always count on him to assist me with any task and he often offers to help without being asked. He is very independent. If he wants to be entertained, he finds something to do. If he wants cookies, he’ll bake them. If he is cold, he puts on more clothes. It’s a really awesome feature for a kid to have.
I love his sweet sensitive side. He is rather innocent and naive. His love language is physical touch and he loves to cuddle with me and Jeremy. (He also is acts of service). Dallin also sings songs about how much he loves me.
Dallin is athletic. He loves to swim, dive, run, shoot hoops, play baseball and try anything new. He does the coolest and silliest dance moves in our house. Dallin is also very musical. His favorite ways to make music are singing and playing the piano. He has a beautiful, strong voice. And he can improvise the most relaxing songs on the piano. He also enjoys playing songs by ear. He can read music pretty good so far (halfway through the primer piano adventures book at 8th birthday), but prefers to play by ear.
DJ is an avid reader. If he isn’t outside playing with the neighbors, he is almost always reading. Sometimes, he’ll end his playtime outside early to come inside and read. (Okay he does also like to sneak time on the screens). Dallin will read anywhere- in the car, at church, restaurants, everywhere in the house and in the weirdest positions. When he reads, he tunes the whole world out, and it is sometimes difficult to get him back to reality. He is learning a lot by reading and he is often found reading to Tanner.
It’s hard for Dallin to share his tougher emotions or to talk about things that mean a lot to him. So at the time of his 8th birthday, we got him his own therapist. This is to help him process all the challenges he faces with his brother and with pandemic life.
Dallin doesn’t really enjoy church, but he does like learning about Jesus. He decided to be baptized, which will be what our next post is all about.
Our Dal Pal is always helping spruce up our lives. There have been many times during the pandemic where he has been a life saver and refuge for me just by who he is. I don’t know what I would do without him in my life. Our family is so blessed to have Dallin Jerold Zavoral.
