Eleven.

Dear Luke,

Somehow, you are now eleven years old! You had a very happy birthday, which was such a gift. You had been saying for a long time that you wanted to go to Houston or have a sleepover for your birthday, so there was some sadness when we explained that neither was going to work out. I felt sad that you weren't able to invite the friends that have attended your parties for years, some going back to your first or second birthdays! But we came up with a plan to have your party at Altitude and you had no trouble thinking of 7 friends to invite. They were all able to come and some brought siblings, so it all felt very festive! You and the other kids had a blast jumping and running around the park before eating pizza and the m&m frosting sandwich cookies you helped me make. Nora enjoyed her time with a couple of the sibling friends and Daddy and I also had fun talking with the parents. It was neat to realize the connections and friendships that have formed for our family over these past 7 months since you started school.

You asked Grandpa over Thanksgiving if he and Honey could come visit for your birthday and they did! It was fun to have them here. You woke up to Minecraft themed decorations at the table and had a couple candles in your gluten free waffles before school. You used 2 "eat with a friend" passes for lunch, so sat in the classroom with Ethan and Eli. After school, we drove over to see your Astros themed birthday spirit rock, then you opened your presents (baseball and Astros stuff, speed cubes, and a gabb watch to name a few). You had requested bacon cheeseburgers for dinner and picked out Blue Bell cherry vanilla ice cream for dessert. To finish the day, you got to go to baseball practice and share peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with your teammates to close it out as they all sang happy birthday!

A few things to note about you at eleven years old:

You have started to call us Mom and Dad. We noticed especially in Boone on our snow tubing trip, you might call out "Mommy", then immediately after, say "Mom." We are happy for you to call us either one.

You LOVE to play outside. You've made friends with some kids over the hill in our backyard and eagerly ask to go outside most days after school. You'll even put down your Switch for an opportunity to play out back. You love to jump on the trampoline, trade Pokemon cards, and recently have started walking with a friend's dog.

You are crazy about U2 and like to practice drumming on the carpet upstairs. Daddy recently brought in several old CDs from the garage and gave you the ones he thought might be good for you to listen to, so you've spent lots of time up there listening to songs from our youth. You have good rhythm!

You are back into the world of Pokemon cards. One of your favorite birthday gifts was a binder from a friend, Eli, so you've spent lots of time trading, organizing, and playing the game with Nora.

You have started serving at church. You recently told me you were getting bored with church and I figured you may feel like you're outgrowing the kids ministry with just a few more months of 5th grade. You've started serving in the preschool class and are going to try helping out with tech in the older kids class next weekend.

You love to tell people that you have the whole upstairs of the house to yourself and mostly try to claim the game room as yours. It's usually not a problem, since Nora likes to be in her room or color at her desk so much. You're also learning some responsibility in cleaning your bathroom counter up there and dusting the stairs every weekend!

You just finished an excellent season of rugby! I remember you crying on the way to your first practice and asking why on earth I signed you up for it. After your team won the championship last weekend I heard you tell someone you will definitely be playing again next winter. I'm so proud of you for sticking with it, making friends, and giving it your all. Your coach said you had a great attitude and he loved your enthusiasm!

You wear a sweatshirt just about daily, and rotate between the 4 or so that you have. You are particular about the clothes you wear. Mostly athletic, short sleeve shirt with a sweatshirt, and pants in the winter.

You will still come cuddle with me, occasionally. One day after school you laid down on the couch next to me for about 5 minutes and recently you also grabbed my hand while we were watching a movie. I'll take it. :)

You are growing in trustworthiness and doing a better job of calming yourself when you get upset. We are proud of you and grateful for the changes.

We love you!

Love,

Mommy (I can still say that, right? ;)