Chet Tanner

 Chet boy is nine...I can still remember his deep little toddler voice saying "Yook Mama!" all day long. Not that that has changed much, he still says it all day, he can just pronounce his L's now. But a lot of other things have changed over the years. This boy is on a mission to grow up and he just won't slow down. 

He was really excited to bust out the machete to cut the pumpkins from the vine. I was really nervous that someone was going to lose an appendage...But Chet just moves forward with confidence and rarely hurts himself. He is a great problem solver when it comes to physical labor and if he's excited about something he goes all in. 

Chet keeps plugging away at the piano and is getting better and better. He even played in church the other day. He didn't get as much time to learn the song as he originally planned but I was so proud of him still being willing to do it. After playing he sat down and said, "that could have been better!" With a big grin on his face. He doesn't let little mistakes get him down. 

Chet has a knack for catching random animals. This was a little chipmunk that may or may not have had some illness...he was bummed when I made him put it back in a tree. It's not uncommon for me to look out the window and see him holding one of the cats in the air Lion King style. I'm sure they love it.  

This boy is always coming up with funny things. He was so proud of the doll legs at the bottom. He wanted to be a "huge person". 

He is always trying to crack jokes. He was very proud of his pancake Ed that he made. 

But that wasn't enough...He then made this "tombstone" to tape on his stomach. It says, "RIP Here lies edible Ed". 

Chet has developed a real love for fishing. He takes advantage of our neighbors' pond almost daily, usually begging Austin or Eliza to tag along. 

Chet has now decided that when he grows up he wants to be an NBA player, but if he gets injured he'll become a professional fishermen. Though he feels conflicted because he doesn't want to be so busy that he doesn't spend time with his family (I'm not making that up!) so maybe he'll just be a cowboy. I know that whatever he does, he will do it well. And he is going to be a wonderful father. 

Chet read the whole Book of Mormon this year. He decided that a pizza party and watching Star Wars would be the perfect way to celebrate. We are so proud of his dedication in reading his scriptures every morning. 

Some mornings he is a little too optimistic on how early he wakes up and I find him like this...

The other day when we were at a performance I looked over at Chet. His hoodie has been on a hook all summer and I thought his "horn" was pretty funny. 

Mom: What is your favorite food?
Chet: Food... (he thinks he is so clever)

Mom: What is your favorite color? 

Chet: Green

Mom: What is your favorite animal?
Chet: Horse and Dog

Mom: What is your favorite book?
Chet: First Harry Potter

Mom: What is your favorite movie?
Chet: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

        

Mom: What is your favorite song?

Chet: Perhaps by Cake (such a random song that he requests all the time)

 

Mom: Who is your scripture hero?

Chet: Mormon because he is the one who took care of the plates and buried them. 

Mom: What is your favorite dessert?

Chet: Brownie (Alice made Chet delicious brownies for his birthday at their pond, I didn't even have to make a cake!)

Mom: What do you like to do for fun? 
Chet: Play Basketball (Chet is excited to start Basketball this winter. He goes out almost daily to practice and thinks he'll "probably be the best player there". Oh the confidence of a 9 year old boy)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

Chet: Listen while somebody reads to me and you scratch my back.

He is my snuggliest child who always feels like he "never gets to" sit by me but strangely seems to always be by me. I know I'll miss it one day so I'm so glad he loves me that much. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?

Chet: Listen to him read books and play basketball with him. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mariah?
Chet: Playing freeze tag

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Austin?

Chet: Play downstairs

They get sent downstairs because they are so loud. These boys play rough and hard. They love to explore on the property and work together too. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Eliza? 

Chet: Play dinosaurs with her and I do that just to hear her talk because I really hate playing dinosaurs. (The love of a big brother. These two are probably the most alike in the family so there is a lot of clashes, but also a lot of love.)

Eliza made Chet a "cup of dirt" for his birthday

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Vivi? 

Chet: Try and get her to say certain words. (Vivi said Chet's name before any other siblings')

Sometimes Chet is tasked with trying to keep Vivi awake on drives. He may fail at times...but you can't say he didn't try. 

Mom: Who is your best friend?

Chet: My family

Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Chet: NBA player

Mom: What makes you happy? 

Chet: When I'm unhappy, I go do something and slowly it just makes me happy. Like Basketball, thats a thing that usually calms me down. (Chet is doing a good job of learning what to do when he feels overwhelmed with emotions. I'm so proud of the growth he has made.)

Mom: What's something that you did this year that you're really proud of. 

Chet: I made some friends. (Chet spent a lot of time at the diving board this summer and made several friends most of which thought he was older than he actually was.)

Mom: What helps you feel peace? 

Chet: Probably reading the scriptures because most days when I don't read them I feel grumpy and don't get through school as fast. 

Mom: What do you like learning about most?

Chet: I like learning about history. 

And though they are getting fewer and farther between, here are some funny things Chet said this year: 

It's a good thing Daniel Tiger doesn't have privates because he doesn't wear pants. 

For the longest time he called Jolly Ranchers Jolly Rogers and it was so funny to me every time. 

One day we only had four cookies left. I gave them to the oldest four and without hesitation Chet gave me a bite of his cookie and the other three promptly followed. He still wants everything to be fair and tries his hardest to make sure it is...usually a good thing. 

One night we decided to sleep in the basement because of a tornado watch. "I brought down some of my valuables: my scriptures, a book, and my pocket knives." I love that those were his top possessions. 

Chet came into the kitchen after playing pirates with his younger siblings and Tanner called him a "bilge rat". Chet's face lighted up and after declaring, "Thats a good one! I'm going to go say that", ran right back to the game. 

I overheard him saying to Mariah, "I'm not going to have a girlfriend before my mission because thats just dumb. I don't want any distractions on my mission so I'm going to wait to have any girlfriends." Wise boy. 

He once told me, "I'm just going to try being an adult for a few years and then if I don't like it I'll be a kid again. But I'll still get to keep my phone and car." Well if it's that easy...

Chet lives life to its fullest. He is full of emotion, loves hard, and plays hard. He has big dreams and works hard to achieve them. He also has a desire to do what is right and tries to learn from his mistakes. We love this Chet boy with all our hearts. Here's to another year!