Another year has passed! You were super excited for your birthday, but a little nervous to do your first basketball game right on the birthday day. You held my hand and looked up at me with nervous eyes as we walked into the gym. I kind of love that you still need me to reassure you that everything will be ok. At the end of your practice you told Dad that you loved basketball. Yes!
You were also super excited that it's party year! You invited 3 friends to go to the theater. We made invitations and dropped them off at friends' houses a few days before the big day. When the big day came there was only one option for a cartoon at the time that we needed to go, so we saw that one! It was a movie called The Star. It was pretty cute. You loved that we got a big popcorn to share with your friends. After the movie we had cake and opened presents. It's was a pretty low key birthday party, which was perfect for a rainy Saturday. And even better is that you loved it!
You are growing up so quickly Hammer! Sometimes I look at you and try to remember what you were like when you were 18 months old, or 3 years old. It's hard to remember a lot honestly, and I kind of hate that. Luckily I keep pretty good record of our lives so I can go back and read and remember! That's why I'm happy to write this post because I don't want to forget what you were like when you were 9 either!
You don't love to read, which is surprising because your favorite past time is writing books, and usually illustrating them too! TJ is your biggest fan. He laughs at your pictures and gets excited to see how the story will end. You do like to read books that make you laugh.
You still love to draw roads with chalk outside. The roads are becoming more intricate, with freeway exits and turn lanes and intersections, all properly marked as they would be on a real road. You are very creative.
You play soccer and are doing pretty well! You understand the game and participate the whole time, but you are not aggressive enough to really get in there and steal the ball and take it all the way to the goal. The same thing will probably go for basketball. But I don't mind. I like my sweet shy boy. And you say that you enjoy it and you get your exercise in, so it's a win win.
You are stubborn, so stubborn. You like to have your say in everything that you do. I tried to pick up piano lessons again with you and you want nothing to do with it. I even made a paper with 6 squares on it so that if you practice just 6 times, I thought that was lenient, then you would get a treat. I knew that you would practice not because you want to learn piano but because there was a short term goal of something in it for you. However, you wrote across the paper something to the effect of "No, I will only practice when there are 5 squares." It made me smile, but I don't know what do do about it! I am still trying to figure out the balance between letting you control the situation and showing you that I know best. I want you to do what I say because I have your best interest at heart, because you trust me. I don't mind that you question my motives or want to compromise, but with every single little thing....it gets hard. I don't want you to lose that desire to do it your way either. That character trait can take you far. So we are working on finding a balance together.
You and Lulu like to pretend play a lot too. You set up restaurants or libraries or stores or concerts, complete with open signs and hours signs and library cards. It's pretty cute. I especially love it when you incorporate TJ and Fish into your make believe and you all play creatively together. It's the best and I think it will end up being one of your favorite memories of childhood.
Some other things that you love are sandwiches, riding bikes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Nintendo, candy (you ate your Halloween candy about 200 times faster than TJ who still has a bag full of it), Uncle Jordan, and playing with cousins and friends.
I took your birthday photos on a cold snowy Sunday. You were outside by yourself making a snowman on the front lawn, adamant about finishing the project that you started. The low sun made for a beautiful afternoon, so I hurried out with my camera to capture the moment and then take a few close ups for this post:
I love the little smile that you do when you're trying hard not to smile because you're shy. I love the freckles across your nose. I love that you love back tickles from me. I love that you thrive when you get one on one attention from Dad. I love it when you're excited and helpful on our trips. I love that you rarely complain about dinner. I love that you have faith in what Dad and I teach you about Jesus and heaven and scriptures. I love how you sincerely repented the other day when you knew that you had done something wrong. What a joy to see you applying what you have learned and wanting to become a better boy. We sure love you and are grateful that you are in our family.
Love you!
Mom
