T-E-N

This precious one turned TEN this week!  Just ... wow.

What a gift these ten years have been!  How much we have allllll grown and changed along with Noah ... as a family, as parents, as believers, as grown-ups (sort of).  Noah's birthday marks the start of the best years of our lives!  Gosh, his baby days seem forever ago. 

Gosh, his birthdays are making me feel old ... now.  I have a TEN YEAR OLD!  Surprisingly, I am less emotional about this birthday than I was about all the ones that came before it.  I think that might be the Lasa-factor; I am too exhausted to emote.  HA!  Emotional or not, I cannot contain how much I beam over this boy of mine and this milestone birthday we have come upon at last! My Noah is the greatest boy I know.  

Now that he's ten, I won't go listing his height and weight like he's a baby anymore, though I am tempted.  Suffice to say, he is still on the smaller side of his peers, but not outrageously smaller.  It is clear that he is growing once again, though, as I have had to hunt bigger clothes (size 7-8 or M) and shoes (size 1-2) over the last year.  Instead of size stats, I will list personality points. Some of my favorite things about Noah these days:

• how he beats his chest when he is excited or has just gotten good news.
• how he punches the skies when he make a great play at baseball. How very strong his throws are, how much more accurate his catches, how much more reliable his hitting, how much faster his running.
• how very, very patient he is.  With everyone. All the time.  He is just so easy going.
• how beautiful he is.  Just so handsome.
• how discerning he is in social situations - alert to how people feel or what people need.  Sometimes it's less appealing though ... like when he is listening in on adult conversations. :}
• how he stillllllll feeds Anna the lines he wants her to say when they are playing Legos 
• how very curious he is before events - what time, when will we leave, who will be there, what will we do it if rains instead. How he watches the clock like a machine and looks forward to appts and outings and visitors with every fiber of his being. All heart, all eager.
• how much he enjoys riding in the car after dark.
• how he is just now outgrowing kid's meals at restaurants, bless it.  It's just not enough food to keep him anymore.  Which is fine.  Just a fun little milestone for the marking.
• how well he empties the dishwasher, watches Lasa, washes the hot tub.
• how he is already saving for a car ... even if it is because Josh is making him do it.
• how great a gamer he is.  He says he has no more fun video games ... because he has beaten them all.
• how quick he is to volunteer to lead prayer.
• how off the wall his conversation can be sometimes - "Hey Mommy, you wanna hear a funny joke that's not funny?", spotting Anna's quesadilla maker he asked, "Is that a roomba?!", "Do you have to go to college before you get married?", "I hope I find a wife who is allergic to peanuts.",  he once offered up a destination for Josh and me for our "wedding graduation thing" (anniversary), and upon finding me taking the chairs out of the kitchen to mop he asked, "Who is building a tent?!"
• how when I saw him upset one day, I asked him if he needed to go to his room to regroup.  He said he didn't need to but that he did need hugs. While hugging him I asked what was wrong.  There was a short pause as he worked to keep a stiff upper lip. He then proceeded to tell me, "Well, Anna said she would tickle my back but instead she put her cold feet on them!"
• how he sets such a good example among his classmates and teammates - for obedience, for respect, for self-control, for listening, for good attitude.  I am so proud to be his mom!
• how odd his tastes have become.  That quirky boy of mine doesn't really care for cookies.  Doesn't like hot dogs or BBQ or cold pasta.
• how I can see his face widening into a little man's face these past few months especially. 
• how with that widening, he's had a number of permanent teeth finally drop into place.  Even with snaggle teeth, he is so, so handsome! I think so every day!
• how I still have to clip his toenails for him.  How he still grimaces and flinches for every toe.
• how he still wants his fan on in his bedroom all winter long ... just like me. ;}
• how much he adores his daddy.  The day begins and ends with him for Noah.  It's all about the Daddy, his very best friend.  One time we were impressed with something Josh fixed.  I asked Noah, "Is there anything your daddy can't do?"  He answered quickly, "Nope."
• how much he loves babies and how crazy it drove him when he was sick to not be able to kiss and hug Lasa.  So he enlisted Anna to do his bidding, "Give her a hug.  Now a kiss.  Now another kiss.  Now another hug."
• how tender his heart is ... how teachable ... how kind ... how merciful.
• how he is TRYING to practice sleeping in in the morning instead of bounding out of bed at 6:30.  How he is actually doing it at least once a week!
• how he finally took an opinion on the clothes he wears this year ... he really, really, really didn't not want to wear the "puffy" winter jacket I got him. He also shunned matching PJ sets, winter hats with balls on top
• how he heard his aunt tell my niece that her losing her earrings was irresponsible, and he piped up from the back seat with, "Hey, that makes sense!  EAR-esponsible."  Ha!! 
• how he still plays in his pretend world with Legos or little army men or light sabers. And along those lines, how he still believes in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy.
• how he is interested in taking a hip hop class if I can find one for boys. :}  I think he'd rock that!
• how I handed him the phone to take some selfies to send to his birthmother and how I love every. single. shot. 

Lest I misrepresent the preciousness that is my boy, let me also list some of his vices/struggles at this age as well.

• He still believes in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy.  :}
• He still finds joy deep, deep down in his very cells when pushing his sister's buttons. 
• His first instinct lately when asked to help out is one of resistance.  He will groan, or act all put out, or complain that it will take allllll day or year. :/
• Which turns into bad attitude once he gets reprimanded for this response.
• He exaggerates injuries - will wail and flip and flop all over the place to garner attention.  It's super annoying.  This created a Boy Who Cried Wolf situation last month when he really WAS hurt and I ignored him entirely thinking he was just carrying on again for attention.  The bruise he had after that day was HUGE and COLORFUL and LASTED forever.  It really must have hurt! Ha! 
• He is still quite underspoken when he should speak up with peers. 
• He tends to give up easily in academic challenges ... especially math.  And once reprimanded, his attitude goes sour again and I have to stop math entirely to send him to his room to regroup.
• He's all boy.  Potty humor makes his day. And toots.  Oh, the stinky toots. 

Noah Brown - I couldn't like you any more than I do.  My eyes water at the thought of how deep my love for you is, at how much I treasure you, how much I enjoy you, at what a wildly precious and good gift you are to your daddy and me.  Keep walking closely to your Savior, my sweet.  There is no greater blessing I could wish for you for all your days ... especially in these pivotal next TEN years of life ahead of you. Wow!  Has it already been ten years?  You've done well, son.  You make ten years look good!  I love you, love you, love you, baby! Happy Birthday!  ~ Mommy

And now, a word from your daddy.  (I last had him blog to you at age 5.  It's time again at 10!)  :)
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Dear Noah,

I’m so proud of the young man you are turning into and so thankful that God has allowed us to be your parents over the last 10 years.  I think of all the ways we spend time together lately and how much that time with me means to you.  Here are some of my favorites:  getting creamed by you in a game of Wipeout on the Wii, building with Legos, talking about Legos, throwing the baseball, relaxing (sort of) in the hot tub, kayaking, Bible study at night, going somewhere in the car – anywhere is fine with you, eating out, watching AFV as a family, movie night, camping out,  going to the park, being together in church, blowing stuff up with TNT in Minecraft, roasting marshmallows over a fire, watching old home videos, letting Lasa crawl on us like mountains, listening to music in the evenings, and our conversations every night at bedtime.

But in all the time we spend together I think I treasure most the moments when I get to see your heart.  I see your heart on the baseball field when the other team is up by 10 points and most kids on the team are pouting and being disrespectful.  You, however, are steady on with a positive attitude and trying your best no matter the score.  I see your heart during our Bible study time with the questions you ask and the connections you make.  I see your heart when I watch how you treat Lasa and other children smaller than you with such gentleness and concern.  I see your heart when you are faced with correction and show a teachable spirit.  I see your heart when I hear about all that you are learning in school and how increasingly rare it is that you have a hard day because of a poor attitude.  I see your heart when we play games with Anna and you know just how much reassurance and encouragement to give to her to keep her in the game.   I see your heart when you have to give up time with me so that I can help take care of Lasa and you don’t get upset.  I see your heart when the answer is “no”; you don’t get angry or whiny.  And lastly I see your heart with the way you interact with friends and other adults.  Your mother and I are told often that friends want their children to play with you because you are such a sweet child and a good influence.   You make me proud.

Happy birthday, my Noah Brown.  I love you so much. 

Daddy