Mommy Meltdowns: 10! Double digits! That's Ian.

Ian decided to play Flag Football this year. He not only has the enthusiasm and gusto we've come to expect from Ian, but he also does a great job playing the game. Ian is a go-getter and there is no better demonstration of this than on the football field. He has this signature move for when he captures his opponent's flag. He takes the flag in one hand, gives it a twirl and then with a slam dunk tosses the flag to the ground. It is quite adorable. Ian keeps asking when I will be ok with him playing tackle football. Um, that is going to be half past never! Let's stick to flag football and keep it a non-contact sport. I don't think my heart could take it watching a bigger kid plow into Ian. Maybe if I had him bubble wrapped from head to toe and then another layer of pillows attached to his body, I might consider it. Might. Until then, flag football rules!

Ian has become a foodie! He now becomes offended when the host at a restaurant sees him and offers the kids menu. He loves to try new foods and follows "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" on the Food Network. He actually enjoys all the cooking shows. Ian was fortunate to have experienced a restaurant that was featured by Guy Fieri in Philadelphia over Winter Break. My uncle took him to Nick's Original Roast Beef. Ian still raves about the roast beef sandwich he ate. It's fun watching Ian eat all the food I wouldn't dream of trying.

This year Ian has taken responsibility for making his own breakfast and lunch. It is interesting to see what Ian puts together for his lunch. Most mornings he'll make himself scrambled eggs or oatmeal. And in a wonderful act of kindness, Ian will make my GF oatmeal for me to have for breakfast. We will watch The Today Show in the morning before school and make comments on the stories. I love this! One of the stories they recently featured was of the 65 year old woman who gave birth to quadruplets, making her now a mom to 13 kids. OMG! Ian and I are watching this story and all Ian could do was say, "Those babies could live with her in the retirement home." How witty!!

Ian's love of reading continues to amaze us. I was most impressed that he read all the Hunger Games trilogy books. He reads books at an incredibly fast rate and has kept up with all the new releases on the following series: I Survived..., Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Little League, and many other books written by his favorite authors. Even with all the reading, Ian still finds time to play his Xbox One. I think if you ask him, getting this video game system for Hanukkah was the high point of his year. Ian has a love of history that has to come from Jeff. His memory for dates, facts and figures has him resemble a walking encyclopedia.

Braces happened in December! It has completely transformed Ian's face. He looks so much older with the shiny metal peeking out of his smile. And somewhere along the year, Ian lost his baby face and cheeks. He has gotten noticeably taller, lost his belly and looks like he is ready to be a tween. Ian's hair has taken on a life of its own. Ian doesn't want to cut it, so it keeps growing and growing (and growing). I joke with him if we are ever lacking a mop, we can turn him upside down and use all that hair to clean up what we need to.

Check out this hair! Oh my!!!

I sometimes can't believe Ian is 10.

Ian with braces!

School was not a happy place for Ian this year. This was the first year that he lost his enthusiasm for going to school. Most days he was absolutely miserable due to his teacher's style of teaching. Jeff and I tried to help him, but mostly he needed to just deal with it and do the best he could to make it through each week. Fortunately he kept up with his school work and still enjoyed learning. I hope that next year he gets his smile back with a new teacher and a new year.

Ian picked the violin to play as his string instrument for school. Jeff and I are amazed at how quickly he has learned to play. He loves to give impromptu concerts for anyone who stops by the house or relatives we skype with. Sometimes he'll serenade me in the kitchen as I'm making dinner. Unfortunately this makes me feel like I am on the titanic as the ship is sinking and the musicians won't stop playing. But it's so cool to listen to Ian play an instrument. Jeff and I don't have a musical bone in our body and fortunately that seems to have skipped a generation.

Ian is growing into the most awesome person. I love being his mom. He is funny, kind, compassionate, and smart. Let's not forget, he has wonderful manners.

Happy 10th birthday to my fabulous son! May this year bring you amazing days and wonderful new experiences. I love you to the moon and back.