Double Digits!

Happy birthday, Jonah! Turning ten is a milestone!! You have informed us that 10 marks the beginning of your "pre-teen" years; I have started to see glimpses of your coming teenage years; sometimes you are pure child and at other times, I am surprised to see some complexity and maturity emerge.

How do I describe my ten-year-old Jonah? You are still active and agile: you've added skateboarding and roller-blading to your favorite activities this summer. You are happiest when you're in motion outside: flipping on the trampoline, swimming and especially diving from the high dive, riding your bike, climbing a tree...

Your other big love is reading and if I'm looking for you, I usually need to look no further than your room where I can find you curling up with a good book. You are still my sensitive introvert and reading has provided a great way to relax and unwind.

It has been fun to watch your piano playing over this past year: you find a great deal of happiness sitting down and playing and you've learned some really fun music lately. You surprised us this spring when you announced that you would play piano in the school talent show: this performing is a new side of your personality, and your self-confidence has grown immensely through piano.

Soccer continued to be your big sport this past year. This spring and summer you decided to play traveling soccer which opened up a whole new world of sports to our family. Your first experience with traveling soccer was so positive that you opted to sign up for a fall team as well.

You have grown immensely over the past year. Third grade was challenging for you and with the help of an amazing teacher who believed in you and refused to listen to excuses, you have developed some positive work habits and pride in your accomplishments.

You've challenged your parents greatly this year. You and I clash far too much and you have a stubborn streak (where ever did you pick THAT up?!) In those rare moments when I can keep a cool head, I see that much of the conflict you and I experience stems from our similarities.

I enjoy watching you interact with others: you are friendly and social with adults, and you make friends easily with other kids. It is fun to see you with younger kids: you have a gentle way about you and your fun-loving nature is a magnet.

You have started developing your own friendships and I've enjoyed this development as well. You just celebrated your birthday by having your 3 closest buddies and your cousin at our house for an overnight (NOT a sleepover, since sleep was such a small part of the night). Observing the social interactions of a group of 9- and 10-year-olds was instructive and gave me a glimpse into the next few years.

I love you, Jonah, and I hope this marks the beginning of a fantastic year for you!

Summer days. . .

School started for teachers last week, and while Ken went back to work, I took a week off to enjoy a bit of summer with the boys. Here is how we spent our time during that week: bike rides to the park ... school-supply shopping ... baking ... swim lessons ... canoeing ... birthday planning ... sleeping in .... Added to that the boys' trampoline-jumping ... skateboarding ... legos. We also went out for lunch twice ... read the first half of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" ... hung out at three different pools ... watched Harry Potter 4 ... (and for some of us, "Godzilla") ... shopped for new school shoes ... and spent time in our backyard. What a great way to spend some of the last days of summer!

HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY, TOBY!!!

(just a little bit late...)
Dear Toby,
It is amazing to me that it's already been seven years since you came into our lives with your sunny smile and warm hugs.

The past year has been a big year for you as you've learned to cross-country ski, swim, play chess, ride a scooter, cook, and so much more. First grade was a great year. It has been wonderful to watch your reading abilities move from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." I can't tell you how many times you spout out some new fact and when I ask you how you know it your answer is "I read it in a book at school." You love school and have many friends. This year you developed the confidence to embrace activities like soccer, basketball, canoeing and swim lessons. You pride yourself on being able to follow rules and expectations and some of your biggest frustrations are when others are not following the rules.

You have become a social butterfly and love having playdates with friends! Your favorite activities are swimming, jumping on the trampoline, making crafts (origami!) and playing with legos. I'm glad that you so enjoy reading books together at night; all of the Magic Tree House, A to Z Mysteries, Nate the Great stories, and science and nature books we've read together this year. You love non-fiction and it is fun to learn from you. This year you've been very interested in sharks and talk about becoming a marine biologist.

For the first time in your life, you went on adventures without us this year: first spending half a week at Pilgrim Point Camp, and then a week with Grandma and Grandpa Cook. You loved both experiences and felt very independent! You also love to travel: you were so excited about our vacation to Michigan and loved planning activities and charting our progress on the map. You are already looking forward to next year's vacation!

You're still my talker: you love to explain how things work and report on all your adventures. I am sometimes surprised at how articulate you are: that is a gift! You are developing a way of talking yourself through your fears and anxieties. For example, I've watched you step into a boat or canoe ever so hesitantly those first few times this summer, not at all certain you could do it. You are able to communicate your fears and explain the big butterflies you're experiencing (prehistoric mammoth butterflies, really) and how you're calming down.

You enjoy playing piano and singing and this year you've also developed a love of performing. Your speaking part in the Christmas pageant at church was a big accomplishment for you, and you were thrilled to play a role in the "Free to Be: You and Me" performance this spring. You do get nervous but you are able to move past that and shine in performing.

I so enjoy your calm and engaged presence and the way you still melt into me when you need cuddles. My heart swells with pride when people tell me how much they enjoy being with you.

Your golden birthday (7 on the 7th) was a milestone you looked forward to for months! Happy birthday! You are my sunshine and I love you, Toby!