Nine Years

Dear Nathan,

Time flies when you’re having fun. I recently told you about an embarrassing thing I did while picking out your birthday candle at Party City: I accidentally picked up a 7 before going back to pick up a 9. No, I didn’t really forget how old you’re going to be tomorrow (at least, I hope that’s not the case--if so, I’ll be skipping your party for a visit to the doctor’s office). But maybe part of me still sees you as a little boy, rather than a not-so-little boy.

To illustrate how not-so-little you are now, your dinner a couple of nights ago was three huge tacos with a side of chips and salsa (yeah, salsa--you wouldn’t have touched the stuff when you were a mere 7). And tonight I’ll be piling your plate with grilled asparagus (though you still won’t touch strawberries or lettuce). When I measured your height on the last day of 3rd grade and compared it with your height the first day of 3rd grade, I wasn’t altogether surprised to see you had grown nearly three inches in ten months. You’ve lost all 8 of your front baby teeth and have only a hint of a space left to the side of one of your middle teeth. Your dentist has already warned us that you’ll be needing braces. It’s not “if,” just “when.”

Your hobbies still include origami (you even joined a club with some of your friends), Lego-building with Evan, designing stories and creative characters on paper, playing on your Kindle and Chromebook, and, of course, reading. You continued to read the Harry Potter books this year on your own. You and I just watched the fifth movie together last weekend. Unfortunately, I made you wait months to watch it because it took me that long to finish the book!

You took an after school keyboarding class in both the fall and spring semesters at school. Although you didn’t particularly like practicing, you did enjoy the class, and you learned to read music pretty easily.

One thing that we’ll always remember about this year of your life is your spring Hart Pinto Baseball team, the Angels. Being one of the older and taller kids on the team gave you an advantage. And, as all the coaches agreed, you were very “coachable.” You listed to each of them and followed instructions well. You still continued to play catcher every game, something you did last season, too. But you also got to pitch for the very first time. Your first game pitching was a little rocky, and, frankly, we weren’t sure if you were ready for this leap. But after that, you really excelled! You had a very even pitch. It wasn’t extremely fast, but it was consistent, with a last-second drop that confused a lot of batters. Your team did quite well over the course of the season, winning about half the games, and your skills played a big part in that. It was sure a busy five months, since Evan had games and practices, too, but we especially enjoyed your games. We were often on the edge of our seats watching you pitch! We won’t forget one incredible out you made at home plate as catcher, too.

Your best friends continued to be Abe Shelofsky and Jack Bramson. Although the two of them actually have quite different personalities, you still click with them both. You were in class once again with Abe, and we carpooled with Jack throughout the year.

We went to Universal Studios over spring break, and you really liked some of the scary rides like The Mummy, Jurassic Park, and Transformers. We went back again right after school was out with Abe, and sometime this summer you and I should go back and ride all those scary rides again together.

You’re still a great big brother to Evan. You guys play Legos in the loft together for hours. OK--you do fight. And you fight a lot. We’re still working on that. But fortunately the fights don’t last long. And you were so supportive of Evan during his first season of baseball. You even helped out at his practices on occasion. Although sometimes silly arguments get in the way, Evan is still your number one friend and partner. You shared your room with him for a large part of the year. He was having a hard time getting to sleep because he was scared. Being in a room with you put an end to those problems. Eventually, however, sharing a room created new problems. :-) But it was sweet while it lasted, and it did help Evan.

In school you learned a lot about Santa Clarita history. The entire 3rd grade class put on a musical about the history of the SCV (you were Harry Carey), and you got to take your first field trip on a bus that traveled around the valley. You know more about Santa Clarita history than I do!

You have definitely shown an appreciation for the “goofy arts” this year. You enjoy a good joke, a good laugh, and a tricky riddle. When your class held and informal talent show, you decided to tell a one of your own riddles. You don’t mind getting up in front of your classmates. You’ve always gotten good grades on your oral presentations.

Although it’s sometimes a little hard for Daddy and I to see you get older, we are enjoying getting to share in some common interests. I took you to the Los Angeles Arboretum, where we enjoyed looking at succulents (and ultra friendly peacocks) together. Daddy has shared his knowledge of baseball and the game of Stratego (which I can’t beat you at anymore). Now we’re looking forward to showing you some of our favorite ‘80s movies.

As you turn 9, we hope you continue to show the world the “Best Nathan You Can Be,” as we often tell you. Because that Nathan is, and always will be, so special to so many people--especially to us. We love you! Happy birthday!

Love,

Mommy