Spotlight On Corey

I love this kid!

All four of my children are special in their own unique way, but today, let me turn the spotlight on Corey.

Corey Christian - he melts my heart!  Maybe it's because he's so much like his father!  He has the fun-loving nature of his dad, the same eyes, and even falls in the same line-up among his siblings as Tim - third born - second son.

While Tim is truly the middle child (with one more younger brother than Corey has), Corey would be closest to fitting the "Middle Kid" characteristics in our family.

Perhaps it's because his alone times with Mommy or Daddy seem to come so few and far between that he values them so?  We try to get those quality times with each child - date nights on their birthday, the occasional trip to the store, etc, but Corey would be the one who gets paired up with (at least) one other sibling the most.  

Lately, I've been noticing the changes in my little boy and I love seeing glimpses of the young man he is becoming.  

• I love that he is funny!  Between him and his little brother, there is usually always something to laugh about at our house.
• I love that he has a sensitive spirit!  He is the most easy-going of all our children!
• I love the way his eyes twinkle when he smiles!
• In fact, I just love his smile!
• I love that he is sympathetic towards others feelings.
• I love that he is soft-spoken, yet still able to communicate what he wants or needs.
• I love that he plans for the future - just today his teacher called me.  We had to discuss the mystery illness he's been having lately.  She told me about his "fevers" that disappeared only at snack-time and recess, while I told her about his tendency to begin his plan-of-escape-from-school-tomorrow on the ride home each day.  The plan usually includes coughing, checking forehead for fever, asking if Daddy will be combining tomorrow, complaints of sore throat, and "where will Daddy be combining tomorrow?"

Tonight, Corey came home from school with farming on the brain.  "Yes, Corey, I'll take you right away," I told him.  He changed his clothes, grabbed a snack and ran out to the van.  I watched him in the rear view mirror on our way to the field.  His brow furrowed up as he did his homework as quickly as he could.

"Mom, it says I have to see how high I can count."

"Ok, so how high can you count?"

His voice was matter-of-fact, "One million, ninety-nine."

I couldn't help it! I started laughing and he looked at me somewhat disgusted.  "Buddy," I was scrambling to find the right words so as not to hurt his feelings.  "I don't think... are you sure...  uhmmm... wouldn't you say it's more like 200?  Or even 500?"

His facial expression said, "Hello, mom!" but he insisted that, no, he was able to count to a 'million-ninety-nine'.

I wasn't ready to relent, so I tried again, "Corey, I don't know of anyone that has ever counted to a million-ninety-nine and, frankly, we don't have time.  That would take about a week, and the field is right up the road."  I paused for a moment to let it sink in.  "Just write down that you can count to 300, cause I know you can count that high."

Corey sat quietly thinking.  Suddenly he looked up and said, "But mom, I can count to a million-ninety-nine, so that's what I should write!"

This time, I didn't try to hold back.  He didn't either and we laughed together the last mile down the road.

I sighed, "Ok, Corey, if you think you can count that high, go ahead and write a million-ninety-nine."

It was quiet in the van for a moment, and then, "Mom? How do you write a million-ninety-nine?"

When we arrived at the field, Corey grabbed his lunch box, hopped out of the van, and headed across the field to ride with his Daddy.  Feeling sentimental, I snapped a picture of  my little man.

Isn't he precious?  My favorite part is that, in his excitement to go farmin', Corey put his pants on backwards... see the patch behind his knee! 

He makes me smile.

P.S.  Corey had a school project about Clifford the Big Red Dog.  He is so proud of it, he asked me to post it on my blog.  Hopefully it'll get posted in a day or two!  :)

So, what about your kids?  When you take a moment to look at the attributes of each child in your life, what do you see that makes each one special?