Mister Christian

Christian is our only boy. We had him after having three girls and we've enjoyed watching him grow up. He's just such an interesting kid! Carlos and I really think that raising confident kids is important, and we have found that one of the best ways to do this is to find out what they are naturally good at and help direct their path. So it has taken a while with Christian. We've discussed sports, , BMX racing, and music, and even though he seems to have some musical abilities, he just wasn't interested.

Several months ago I spent three solid days in the garage with my dad building shelves and organizing and we had lots of time to talk. Over those three days he helped me realize that Christian had a very mechanical mind. He has always asked dozens of questions about any given subject, from space, to poison, to how an outhouse works. Carlos has always been so patient to answer all his questions and I have literally spent hours on the computer with Christian googling whirlpools, pyramids, tornadoes, black holes and any other subject that might interest him. After our "garage bonding time" dad brought over a little four wheeler for Christian. He gave him a tool kit, and showed him all about taking care of it, giving him full responsibility for the little machine. (side note: I firmly believe that it takes more than two parents to raise a child!) Dad also built Christian his own little tool bench where he could store his little tools and have his own area to design, build and invent.

These past few months I have just watched Christians mind go into full gear, coming up with all sorts of inventions and ideas. Several weeks ago he designed a "ski bike" which his dad helped him build in the garage. (I love Carlos!) Last week was "trap" week! Christian set up traps which included string tied to Crayola markers which propped up basketballs which would roll down the stairs when you tripped the trap! (scared the bajeebies out of me one morning when the cat got caught!)

Last Monday for FHE Alyssa helped us put together a new family time capsule and Christian very quickly drew up a couple of inventions he plans on designing some day to add to the capsule. He will be 14 when we open it, and I will be interested to see how he reacts to his drawings! One was for a contraption that eliminates sound, and I didn't totally understand the other one, but it was some sort of electrical stick?

The funny part of all this is that Christian will disappear with some cardboard, rubber tubing, duct tape and wire and come back with something incredible. But if you ask him what he's doing, while he's working on it he won't tell you. He's just a little shy about it sometimes. Having said that, I have enjoyed watching him develop his talents. I love how his eyes light up when he has come up with something new. I love all his questions and how he absorbs every bit of information he can get on subjects of interest!