Nine Years Old!

Dear Luke,

It's your last year in the single digits! You were telling me days before your birthday that you couldn't wait to be 10 and I told you we needed to slow things down. :)

At 9 years old,

You take great pride in keeping your room clean, which makes me happy. Something shifted last summer after a few occasions where you felt really overwhelmed with how messy your room got and how long it took to clean things up. You have a lot displayed, including papers taped to the wall and Legos lined up on the surfaces, so dusting takes awhile, but you have a place for everything and like to keep the floor picked up!

You love being a "teacher kid" on the days I work. You and Nora go to the library after school on those days and you're disappointed when I finish early and you don't get to hang out with your buddies, snacking on popcorn and playing on their iPads. It is sweet that you are so happy to see me most every time you spot me at school. You peeked in the window to the classroom a few times when I was subbing for 3rd grade and we overlap at recess now on Fridays.

You've asked if you can call me "mom." I usually tease you and say, "I'm not mom!" I know you will probably switch soon, but I intend to hang on to "mommy" as long as possible. :)

You love to place holds on books at the library and will collect quite a stack each time we go. You fly through the books you're excited about. You've read some Harry Potter and are really into Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dog Man. It's a great activity when we need some quiet entertainment.

You love to play Dreambox, Reflex, and Prodigy on the computer. They're all math programs and some are assigned as homework. You love to get additional time though and will work through a checklist quickly to get to some screen time!

You refer to a lot of kids as your "best friend" and are very social. We go to the park frequently after school and you have quite a network of neighborhood friends. I also hear a lot about Geoffrey, Jake, Ben, Camden, and Troy from school. And a girl named Evelina is apparently your girlfriend. You told me she's nice, smart, funny, and tells the other girls to be nice to you.

You love sports, whether baseball, basketball, football, soccer or gaga ball. You will often play in the front yard bouncing a ball up above the garage door. You're enjoying playing baseball with Lamar Little League and also play ball at school recess. It's not uncommon for you to ask Daddy as soon as he gets home if you can play gaga ball upstairs or play catch in the backyard.

You like to run. Our after school routine now includes you getting out to check the mail, then running home. You've even run all the way to the park with me driving slowly alongside. It's a great way to get your energy out!

You love to trade Pokemon cards. Your birthday party had a Pokemon theme, including a Pikachu pinata! Daddy had the great idea to buy Pokemon cards for the two of us so we can trade with you, too, so you think that's pretty cool!

You still give great hugs, and sometimes ask me to tickle your back and sing to you at bedtime. I know the little boy in you is growing up, so I love these moments.

I love you, Luke!

Love,

Mommy