Holy Moly! Ian's 11!

Ian has shown an unbelievable talent for writing this year.  He has taken his free time and used it to write short stories, not for any assignment at school, but for his own pleasure.  These stories are amazing.  It's very exciting to see talent emerge.   Funny enough, when I spoke with his teacher about his writing and enrolling him in a creative writing class, his teacher recommended a drama class as well.  Apparently, Ian is quite a 'ham' in class and would do well in acting.

Ian had a phenomenal year at school, largely due to his teacher.  It's amazing the influence (good or bad) the teacher can have.  We are so grateful that his teacher this year brought back Ian's love for learning.  

Flag football is his sport of choice, but Ian has been campaigning hard to let him play tackle football next year.  It's a tough line between letting him make his own informed decision and saying "Absolutely no!  I will not let other players run into you on purpose and hurt you."   We've had many discussions about this, and Ian understands why we aren't letting him play tackle, but its still hard to say no to our son.  Ian has now expressed interest in trying Track.  Seeing how fast Ian can run, I think this might be a good fit. 

One of the coolest things that really took off this past year was going to the movies.  Ian enjoys being my date for all those PG and PG-13 movies I love to see (think:  My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Joy) and Jeff takes Ian to all the Superhero/Marvel/Avenger movies.  It's the perfect fit and we are nicely building Ian's interest in pop culture.

Xbox playing and reading is still top of Ian's list on how to spend his free time. His interest in books has now leaned towards topics of time traveling and science fiction.

I can honestly call my son a 'foodie'.  He loves to try new dishes and has become a very adventurous eater.  It's fun to listen to his thought process when he looks at a restaurant menu for the first time and hear all the different things he is interested in.  He is done with the kids menu for good!

Ian transitioned from playing the violin last year to the saxophone this year.  Upon those first few months, Ian playing the saxophone sounded really, really bad.  It was hard to hear him try to hit those notes.  But with a few months of practice (and he makes sure to practice all the time!), he sounds lovely.  Really, truly great.  We love listening to Ian play (including his sister sometimes).  Ian has expressed interest in continuing with the saxophone next year.

Ian is very funny and sometimes we look at each other and just roll our eyes on something that is going down inside our house.  His quick comeback lines and witty observations keeps me laughing.

I love how Ian looks out for his little sister and tries his best to minimize her meltdowns.  He is going to make a great husband one day.  :)

1st day of 5th grade!

Braces came and went during this year.

Happy 11th birthday to my brilliant, funny, energetic, creative son.  We love you so much and wish you a year filled with awesome adventures, amazing moments of wonder, and lots of reasons to giggle.