Our Seven Year Old

Willem turned seven on July 29th and near our kids' birthdays I try to document a little about what they are into. So, here's a bit on our Willem at seven years old...

How he spends his free time: Playing soccer, riding his bike, checking out what’s happening on the dairy, playing with farm toys, reading farm equipment catalogs, reading soccer catalogs. On-line, Willem likes to look at soccer shoes and gloves and farm equipment. He will also watch harvesting videos on YouTube from time to time though not as much as he did last year.

Favorite TV shows: Fox Soccer Report, any soccer games, Suite Life on Deck, Disney Channel shows, Myth Busters and other Discovery and History channel shows. He will generally just watch whatever his siblings are watching.

Willem continues to be independent and is easy-going though he is quite competitive. He (unlike his big sis and bro) never tells us he is bored or can’t figure out what to do. He is very tough and strong and generally lives very much in the present (except when he dreams of running his own farm one day). His teammates’ and friends’ parents very often comment how tough Willem is.

Favorite Foods: Willem is a candy and sweets lover! Though we try to keep him away from sweets as much as possible, he has been known to sneak treats from the cupboards and he even got sick recently from eating frosting from a can! He also likes pancakes, pizza, PB&J sandwiches, cheese quesadillas, DQ Blizzards and grill cheese sandwiches.

Friends: Willem’s best friend right is Massimo from his soccer team. They play soccer for hours and hours together; they both love to play keeper and love taking shots so they take turns at each role. Willem also really likes Zane and Julius from his team. At school Willem talks most about Ethan, Jackson, Hayden and Mitchell from his class as well as Treysn from a grade above him. He also really loves to play with his siblings especially Cade (they play soccer together for hours each day) and he loves his siblings’ friends (again, especially Cade’s friends and especially Liam). And, Willem loves being around his cousins.

School: Willem does well in school though school is not his favorite thing. He behaves well, stays focused and his teachers say he gets along well with all the kids. He is strongest in math and knows numbers up to the thousands and can add and subtract large numbers in his head pretty quickly. He can also count money very well. His reading is slowly coming along. He can read the easier Bob Books but doesn’t enjoy it much yet.

Favorite soccer teams: Real Madrid, Arsenal, Ajax, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, USA, Netherlands, Portugal

Willem continues to surprise us with his joking and sense of humor. He is generally not  loud with his humor but is more clever with his comments and jokes.  He has a great memory and will recite jokes quite well (unlike his mom)!

Height: 52 inches

Weight: 64 lbs

We Love You, Sweet Willem, So Very Much!!