Dear Quinn,
Happy GOLDEN birthday to you! Nine-years-old on the ninth day of the ninth month! You're actually calling this your "diamond" birthday because there is more than just turning nine on the ninth of the month, but on the NINTH month also makes it especially meaningful to you. I want to tell you all about you at this diamond age, sweet Quinn:
- You are obsessed with Imagine Dragons lately. Especially this summer, you started really listening and identifying with their songs. It was a pure joy to be able to surprise you with going to their concert last week!
- PACE is your very favorite thing about school. You love a challenge and are bored without one. The boredom causes a lot of anxiety for you, and with the help of Ms. Nance, we discovered that your anxiety increases during times when the teacher cannot meet with groups to extend your learning to meet your needs. For example, when the teacher has to do end-of-year assessments, you have to sit and do a lot of busy work that doesn't meet your needs, so it's during those weeks when you tell me you hate school and don't want to go. It's during those weeks when you tell me that your tummy hurts or you get headaches at night. Knowing this, and reaching out to Ms. Swearingen about it, has really helped.
- You are a brilliant boy - always making up jokes, puns, connections, and curious questions! "If you wait for the waiter, are YOU the waiter?" "Do you describe water as wet? If water itself is in fact wet, then can you really describe it as wet?" You pose the most interesting questions and are always thinking.
- You did tennis camp in May and are interested in wanting more lessons.
- You had a crush on Sofia all last school year, and you decided to tell her about your feelings at the end of second grade. Just this week, on my wedding anniversary, you asked her to be your girlfriend, and she said yes. As we went downstairs in the morning before school, you said, "Mom, if "someone" asks "someone" to be his girlfriend and she says yes, then "someone" will have the same anniversary as someone else." So now we have the same anniversary. :)
- You adore Tova who we got in October last year. She's now 13-months-old, and she loves to cuddle on your bed with you at bedtime. She seems to follow your "come" command better than anyone else's in the house.
- You love to eat. You love to cook. You love to create menus for us or experiment with new foods - trying out interesting combinations of what to throw in the blender for a new smoothie or creating a dessert with various ingredients, for example. You love soups, especially Ramen, and you're willing to try all kinds of new foods. My favorite was on our cruise when you would want to order from the adult menu to try out a more mature dish from your brothers' chicken nuggets or cheese pizza.
- You adore Legos, reading, GFC, drawing (which you've gotten really good at, by the way!), swimming, iPad time, cuddling, and showers.
- You are without a doubt the best helper at home. You are usually willing to get off a screen first, to do favors for me, to clean up someone else's mess, etc. I'm not saying you do it joyfully, but you never complain. It's also without a doubt unfair to you that you often pick up the pieces where your brothers fail. That sounds harsh about them, but it's true. They don't do as much around the house, and you often feel guilty about that and do it for them. You and I have had some open dialogue about how you do way more and how unfair it is to you. We're both working on making that better for you. This has been an issue in the back of my head, too. I sometimes rely on you to do a quick favor (run upstairs and get me something I need, for instance) because you'll do it right and faster without arguing. This is not right, and I'm working on it.
- You are 52 1/4 inches tall - that's the 50th percentile for height. You weigh 74.8 pounds - the 80th percentile for weight. Your BMI is 19.26, a little on the hefty side at 89th percentile. You asked Dr. B about going on a diet, but of course, he told you no diet! You're a growing kid who eats well (and enjoys it), and he just wants you to eat reasonable portions and focus on eating healthy foods. You're doing just fine.
Quinn Redding, you've been so excited about this birthday! We began our day with traditional balloons in bed (your request) and donuts (also your request), then we celebrated it at one of your new favorite places: Hapik. You got to invite all your closest friends, have a gold sugar-coated cake, and get lots of fun gifts! But your celebration started last night with your "I Believe" that you look forward to each year. I always love creating these - trying to capture all the things that made your previous year amazing. So we said goodbye to "8" and prepared to welcome "9," and while you were excited, this part always makes you a little bit teary and emotional. I know I don't help with that, either, My Love. I tend to be the same way and bring out the emotion for you. As I tucked you in last night, I said, "When you're 18 or 25 or 42 or 87, this little 8-year-old is still in there. He's a part of you and always will be even if you're not 8 anymore." We both got a little teary, but it's exactly what I think about when you boys are growing up so fast. My baby, my toddler, my little boy is still in that cute, growing body of yours and inside your brilliant mind. You are who you are always, it's just hard to know how fast you're maturing and growing up!
At the Imagine Dragons concert, you shared that sometimes you feel different as a middle child. You described exactly what I worry about - that you're not the oldest going through something for the first time, but you're also not the last to experience something, so you feel your experience isn't worthy of any attention. You said like when you go to middle school for the first time, it won't be any big deal because Banner has already gone, and when Knox is there, it will be our last child in middle school so there's some sadness and excitement to that. I understand what you're saying, but I also said that it's YOUR first time or last time or whatever the case may be. It's always special to watch YOU go through something, even if we've done it before or will do it again. Yes, I've had a 9-year-old before, and I will again after you, but that doesn't belittle the fact that YOU are NINE now! It feels like yesterday you were a newborn baby in my arms, the best cuddler ever - just me and you in that hospital bed snuggling away. I never wanted that to end. And yet, here you are, still the best cuddler ever, and we've never stopped being the best snuggle pair! Watching you grow older has been a pure joy - to be in the best seat in the front row - watching you get so smart, so handsome, so creative, so funny, so kind and caring.
You make me so very happy to be your mom, Quinn.
Happiest birthday, My Love!
Love,
Mom
