Nathan is 9, Things are Pretty Fine

Dear Nathan, 

I can't even start to express how proud I am to be your mom. You are a child who always tries your best in whatever you do (except for writing, you really dislike writing), and truthfully, most of the time you do it really well. 

Nathan's first "Hustle Ball" earned on 10/10. 

It was an "L" in the books, but still a good game to watch.

Baseball practice is still 3 hours long for the most part, but to you, it goes by quickly because you "love it!" You have a great attitude about it (even if you are one of the most inexperienced players on the team), for example, when you are sitting out, you see it as an opportunity to rest and enjoy the game. 

You are really enjoying skating. You especially love playing tag by the school and you are now really fast on the roller blades. I can only rely on my fast stopping skills to avoid being tagged by you. 

When you turned 9, you asked your best friends to come over for an evening of fun. You requested your favorite take-out, Chick-fil-a, and you boys had lots of fun chatting outside as you ate. 

Afterwards, you guys played a little bit of video games as you waited for it to get a bit darker outside. 

And then ya'll went outside for some laser tag. 

But who knew that the highlight of the night would be shrinky-dink crafting. You all sat and drew, some with directed draw, some just free-handed, and I love the bursts of laughter that would occasionally erupt. The dynamics of the group was sweet. 

Watching the shrinky-dinks shrink in the oven.

Screen time aside, I think it's safe for me to say that martial arts is the highlight of your week. You have had a few chances to be Senpai (highest belt in the class) and you've relished that honor each time it happens. You are a hard worker in martial arts and sometimes you get a little emotional when you don't get to do something because of time. But I'm also proud to announce that during the most recent episode, you were able to calm down quickly and move on. 

You still love to talk. You love to narrate you life (especially during video game playing) and enjoy sharing your gaming accomplishments with us. Most of the time I have no context about what you are talking about, so I just smile and nod. 

Your favorite books are the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series and you are still enjoy a good Dog Man book. You continue to be very much interested in Greek Mythology. You know so many of the stories and even are able to correct me when I get the name and title of a god wrong. 

We also realized that you need to get glasses. You had an appointment today and will be getting your glasses in about 2 weeks, right before your last game of the season. So far, you have not hit a ball during a game, maybe the glasses will help, or maybe they won't...we will find out. 
 

Next week, you get your tongue tie released so that will be interesting. You've been seeing an orofacial myofunctional therapist and doing exercises to prepare for the surgery since school started, next week it finally happens and afterwards, you will have 4 more weeks of therapy and exercises to do. 

Love you so much! 

Mommy