Happy 9th Birthday Brayden!
As I am composing this note, you are upstairs in your room, anxiously awaiting my approval for you to come downstairs and start your day. You still have the energy of a four-year old! You have been anticipating your birthday for days/weeks, and last night you lost a lot of sleep over it. I think you finally fell asleep last night at 11:00. Then you were up at 5:00. When I woke up at 7:00 this morning to decorate for your special day, you met me at the top of the stairs and said you had not fallen back asleep since 5:00. You make me laugh because this is not like Christmas morning, where Santa has left a bunch of gifts under the tree. We will certainly open your birthday gifts today, but your excitement is a bit over the top. That is why we love you so much!
We celebrated your birthday last Saturday by going go-karting, playing video games, and having dinner at the Olive Garden. While I wanted you to invite as many friends as you wanted, you were very particular and only wanted to invite Owen, Andy, Tyler, and Drew. Andy could not make it, so you said you'd like for Taylor to take his place (Matty was already included when I booked the event). You are most happy when you are with your family and close friends. That's all you need. You had a great birthday party, especially when you, Owen, Tyler and Drew got to sit at your own table.
There are so many things to write about you, I am afraid I will forget something. You are as unique as can be, and I marvel at you daily.
- Your favorite food is sushi. For your birthday dinner tonight, you want to eat at Aji Sushi. Grandma and Pop Pop are not super excited about this because they do not eat sushi, but you have reminded them that the restaurant is Aji Sushi and GRILL. There is chicken teriyaki on the menu.
- Owen is still your bestie. While I wish you had more friends, you are perfectly content with the ones you have. You have started showing some jealousy when you hear about other kids having sleepovers with friends, and that is when I encourage you to invite a new friend over here, but your jealousy stops there. You are a loner. I have decided that as long as you are okay with it, I am okay with it! I am worrying less about your social life now that I've decided I will only worry when you show sadness over it.
- You love playing soccer. While you ran track last spring and are extremely proud of your ribbons, I am not sure you'll do it again next spring. You have shown some interest in basketball recently and we are trying to encourage you to play rec basketball this winter. You say you just want to play basketball on your own, or you will play rec ball next winter. Daddy and I are trying to encourage you to do things outside of the house!
- Your first love, however, is video games. Oh, how I struggle with this! You could play on your Nintendo Switch or iPad for hours/days/weeks/months and not get bored. I limit your screen time but am constantly getting requests to approve extra time. The worst part about your gaming obsession is that you come into the kitchen and try to tell me all about a game, and I have zero interest in learning about Fortnite or an airplane simulation.
- Unlike most boys your age, you prefer nonfiction books to graphic novels/fictional stories. I volunteer in the school library with your class every other Friday, and I just giggle when I help other boys check out books and then see you pick out books about natural disasters! In fact, two weeks ago (when I was not helping in the library), you brought home an encyclopedia! You had checked out the letter "E" book. Ha!
- In October, Tommy and I were in Las Vegas for a weekend. You called me one night and asked for extra screen time so that you could research a bomb cyclone that was a few hundred miles off the coast of Seattle. I shrugged off your request and approved the extra screen time. Well, when we flew home two days later, sure enough, our city was hit with a bomb cyclone and had a ridiculous amount of rain. You told us all about it!
- You tell our family facts all the time about the solar system, earth, weather, etc. Just the other day, you were telling us in the car that Australia is no longer a continent... it has been renamed Oceania to include all of the surrounding islands. Taylor fought you on this fact, and then looked it up on her phone. You were right!
- You love to help in the kitchen. You enjoy making candied almonds, protein balls, peas, and rice with vegetables and you love seeking affirmation for your efforts. "Mom, do you like the rice I made?" "Mom, aren't you so glad I help you with dinner?"
- You love to do artwork. I will be sad when you stop making me bookmarks (even though most of my books are on my Kindle).
- Now that we have moved back in to our remodeled home, Daddy's office is directly below your bedroom. Oh, I loathe the days that you are home from school and he is working, because I hear a lot of yelling from Daddy, "Brayden, please stop jumping!" Even though you are only 62 pounds, when you jump in your room, it sounds like a herd of elephants above Dad. He has been on video calls before when people have asked him what the loud noise is coming from his office.
- I have questioned if you have ADHD. At home, you are always fidgeting. You cannot sit still (unless you are engrossed in a video game). When the family sits down to watch a movie or show, you are constantly moving. And you cannot follow directions. Sometimes I will ask you to go upstairs and get a pair of socks. You'll go upstairs, get distracted, and come down without any socks. So, I emailed your teacher a couple of weeks ago, asking for his input. He was completely shocked that I asked such a question. He said he has seen absolutely no signs of this at school. Zero. He said you are extremely focused and a model student.
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