On Waking

Chris had to wake Brennan up for school yesterday.  Brennan was half asleep when he finally made it downstairs.  He looked at me with half lidded eyes full of sleep, yawned and said, "Momma, my dream was so good that I just didn't want to wake up this morning."

"Wow, really?  What was it about?"  I replied, trying to hide a smile.

"I don't really remember. But it was good.  Real good."

I love this kid.

Aidan is 11!

It seems impossible that my baby is 11.  A pre-teen conquering middle school.  And so tall, he will soon be taller than me.  We celebrated with Aidan's choice for dinner - Daddy's special home burgers and chocolate cake for dessert.  He is easy to please, our Aidan.

Happy 11, Aidan!

Aidan, today you are 11 years old.  It feels like just yesterday, I could hold you in my arms, snuggled up against my chest.  We still snuggle, but you are every inch a boy now, a tall, growing boy, one who will soon be taller than even your mom.  One of the things I love most about you is how open you are with affection.  You are still my snuggler, my cuddler, my hugger.  You are constantly letting your dad and me know how much you love us, and we feel so blessed to let you know how much we love you too.

At 11, you still love all that is legos.  You can build and construct elaborate lego scenes for hours upon hours.  You love to not only build, but to create movies and stop gap animation movies with your lego creations.  You are truly a creative engineer.  Your love affair with nerf continues too.  One of your favorite playdate activities is staging giant nerf battles that take up the whole house or whole yard.  The after dark nerf battle in our yard you had for your birthday sleepover was a definite highlight.

You are still my reader.  You gobble up books faster than I can get them for you.  I am grateful for the kindle and free e-books at the library that keep you well read.  You finished the Lord of the Rings series this summer and after many years of my saying no, were thrilled when I finally relented and let you read The Hunger Games series.  You also love the Percy Jackson series and eagerly await the release of each new book.  (You have been counting down the October release of the next book in the series for months.)

You dream of being an engineer someday.  You told me you want to go to MIT for college and learn to build things.  You are excited about being eligible for the Future Cities club at school this year and can't stop talking about it.  But, you are also a little nervous about starting the school year in middle school too.  It's a lot of change and a whole bunch of responsibility being a middle-schooler and that has made you a little hesitant about the year to come.

You love to play tennis and had an amazing season as part of the OPCC tennis team.  You played almost every match, starting at second singles and playing most doubles matches too.  You won fifth place in the A category for boys' singles at tennis championships this year.  You and your doubles partner Owen won third place for ten and under doubles at championships.  You are so proud of your accomplishments in tennis.  It was amazing to watch you develop into a truly competitive player.

You are excited to play basketball this season.  One of the highlights of your summer was attending a boys' basketball camp at Hilbert College.  The experience seemed to make you grow up overnight - stepping outside of your boundaries to attend a camp by yourself and make new friends.  For five days, you played basketball for 12 hours a day, came home exhausted, but as giddy with happiness over this new adventure.  I loved watching the new found independence you gained, but it also made me a little sad too because I see you growing up in front of me.

In addition to tennis and basketball, you loved swimming for the OPCC swim team.  You also opted to try something new this year and join the Nativity soccer team.  You are having more fun than I think you imagined.  It is another new experience that is helping you push your boundaries and grow as a person.

Your favorite foods are burgers and pizza.  You still love your baked goods, including a nice slice of chocolate cake.  You eat your weight in mini-wheats cereal.  I am scared to even estimate how many boxes of cereal you eat a week.  Your favorite television shows are Mythbusters and anything on the Discovery channel.  You love the Lord of the Rings movies.

You have a kind soul and are always the boy encouraging those around you or offering to help.  You have a sensitive side, but another side of you that prefers to be large and in charge.  You love rules and love even more reminding everyone around you of the rules and how they should be enforced.  This may drive your little brothers a bit crazy, but it demonstrates the natural leader lurking in you.

I am so proud of the boy you are today.  I feel blessed to have you as my son and as part of our family. I love you more than words can say, my first born, my sweet boy.  Happy 11.

First Day of School 2013!

My sixth grader, third grader and first grader.  My, how the years have simply flown.