Jake at 12

 Dear Jako, Jake-a (and now Forbes, apparently your nickname from your friends!),

 I always starting writing these letters by looking back at last years, and this year has definitely seen you continue that journey between being a kid and becoming a teenager. Our favorite example of this was when you decided you wanted a serious haircut (instead of cheap and cheerful at Great Clips) and we found this funky barber with skulls on the wall and a big Man United tattoo. You're still young enough that he offered you a juice box while we waited (you accepted, of course), but you were also able to hold a conversation with him for an hour, and were offered some cologne to finish the haircut. You also have taken to coming food shopping with me, and take a delight in going off on your own shopping mission while I'm getting the "boring" stuff. This drive for independence is great to watch, but it's also coupled with what goes in your cart - as many sugary snacks and cereal as you can get away with. 

I'll always take you on these trips however, because your current favorite tug on my heart strings is "there will be a time when you won't be able to do this with me". Now whether you're thinking long term about you leaving home and going to college, or the idea that in a few years time, you'll want to spend less time with me as friends and jobs and driving around take over, but I'll always take whatever I can get. Me, you and Sophie spend time together every evening when I read stories to you, and you always beg for one more chapter (even coming up with "we're mad, we're sad, this is totally unrad" as your favorite complaint!). We've hoovered most of the Andrew Clements back catalog, the entire Land of Stories and are currently motoring our way through the 39 Clues. I love to read to you, and you're slowly picking up books that aren't Calvin and Hobbes or Big Nate, but to be fair, as long as you're reading and invested in stories, I'm not really bothered what or how you read. 

You decided to switch things up for your birthday this year. Each year, we give you a budget to split between your party and your presents from us, and this year you put 100% of it on an all out day at 6 Flags with 5 of your buddies (you would have done more but the Sienna only holds 7!). It was honestly one of the best days out I've ever had with you (even though we're both exhausted today), and watching you in the thick of it with your friends was glorious to watch. You've surrounded yourself with non-matcho, easy going people, and the day was fun because you're all goofy, but you're all interested in making things work for everyone. For example, you were able to persuade Judah to go on Batman (after we freaked him out on Superman!) but Brandon was an immovable rock, so you decided to find one last ride to go on together. I messaged the parent group chat with how delightful you all are, and that I wasn't ever nervous or worried about taking a group of 12 year old boys out in the wild for a day - in fact I would do it again in a heartbeat.

This is also the group of friends who decided one day that you were going to make a conscious effort to include a boy who doesn't always play basketball with you (Robert?). You came home from school talking about how good it felt to include him, and to cheer him on. I see this side of you more and more, wanting to reach out and make more connections. You've recently told us that you're trying to make more friends at school so that if your normal crew isn't around, you can talk with people about stuff that they like. It's part of that bigger piece of growing up and expanding your horizons, and we love the fact that you've looked around you and decided to make that change for yourself. 

On the subject of making changes, you made a big call just after your birthday last year to try out for the Revs, a travel soccer team where you would end up being towards the bottom of the pile in terms of ability and therefore playing time. It's been a good journey for you, especially as you've made some friends (and invited Michael to come join you!) and you're developing your skills. Recently, you'd found Lucas wasn't giving you much playing time, and you asked about extra training to build your skills. It's now become part of our after school routine to go to the National Guard and work on your first touch and your shooting skills. You were so proud of yourself when you scored a goal in the last game (Lucas said it was a great finish!) and it's given you motivation to do more. You again decided that you didn't want to play basketball with your friends, but it seemed less weird this year as I think they've accepted that you're a soccer kid. You're also talking about doubling up on the Revs and the school team in the fall which will help you figure out how seriously you want to take soccer moving forwards.

At school, you had your first (and hopefully last!) detention this year for being overly chatty in class. We made a big deal about being respectful to your teachers, especially given your parents, and you've pulled yourself back into line. Your grades continue to be spot on,  but you were offered a place on an advanced math program but didn't want to push yourself with it. Given your continued dreams of being an engineer (or an architect, given your ongoing love of Lego and the massive Lego city downstairs!), at some point you'll find the drive to go for these things, but for now stories of school continue to be about the sports at recess and goofy things that you and your friends got up to.

Finally, one of my favorite things about this last year is your ability to notice and be amazed by the small things in life. You've made numerous comments about how beautiful you find things in nature, from a good snowfall to a gorgeous sunset. You're also finding pleasure in small things at home too, and you'll often get to the end of a weekend with a reflection that we didn't do much (i.e. there were no big exciting outings) but that you still had fun hanging out. You love to be at home with your things, and you also like to be out and about doing stuff with your friends. It's easy work being your dad as you're fun to hang out with, easy to talk with and you've got a lot of different interests to pick from. I hope that you keep this ability to be amazed and amused by everything that life throws at you as the teenage years loom ahead.

All my love,

Dadda aka Web Bolfson

Sophie at 8

 Dear Sofa/Sofa Dofa/Mamsie,

What a year this has been for you. One of the biggest worries I've had watching you grow up is that you're so close to your brother that you take on a lot of his interests as your own. This last year, however, has seen you really start to explore who you are, what you like (and don't like) and how to be Sophie - which is funny, sweet, sensitive, whip-smart and just an overall joy to be around. Don't get me wrong, you're still likely to let Jake pick the TV, but you make sure that you're watching things you both enjoy (Dude Perfect and Mark Rober are the current favorites!) and it's becoming more likely that Jake will want to watch and play with your things than vice versa. For example, you're big into slimes right now (fortunately we're talking pre-made slimes not the do it yourself kits that you and I can never work out!), and Jake is obsessed with playing with them as much as you are, and you're always gracious enough to let him join you. 

This year has seen you develop more robust friendships wherever you go. Your birthday party is always a good gauge for me about your social life, and you had a dozen people you invited who are all good and close friends who you've been talking about all year. It's a testament to your friendship that so many of them made plans on Father's Day to come help you celebrate, though I think the promise of a tie-dye escape room bounce house party was hard to resist! It was another example of you exploring and thinking about what you like and enjoy, and I hope that you see that your mom and I will go to big lengths to help you figure it all out.

On that theme, you've been taking piano lessons now for over a year, to the point where Nana upgraded your keyboard to a weighted keys one just like hers. We do weekly lessons with Miss Mary, and you got to play on a proper baby grand piano at a recital last month which you thought was great fun. You're for sure interested in learning to play and you've got the smarts to learn to read music, but your biggest joy is messing around finding notes that go together (even like last night when you should have been going to bed and you came downstairs to tell me about a melody that you created). This desire to be in charge of your own world and find your own direction is delightful, and I love being your piano buddy and captivated audience. 

One of the hardest parts of this independent journey is when things change that I'm not ready for yet, but that I have to put on my brave face because they're your decisions and I want to support you. Two examples come to mind here. We play a lot of soccer, and I've coached you the last two fall seasons and set up some spring soccer in Northwood with your friends. We talked about fall soccer again this year (which would be a travel team), but you've decided you want to try out flag football as some of your friends from school play and made it sound like fun. There's no reason for me not to support this beyond the fact that I'll miss coaching you, and football is a sport I don't know much about, but you can be sure I'll learn and will be there at every practice and game (and you know we'll have a flag football set up in the yard!). The second example is that you want to get your ears pierced, so we've set up an appointment when we get back from our European adventures. Again, I have no reason to say no, and you have friends that have had their ears pierced for ages, so I've got to get over my hesitation that it feels like you're wanting to grow up quickly, and be supportive to learn as much as I can about ear care and how to match studs and earrings to your ever growing sense of fashion. 

On the flipside to these fatherhood challenges is the sheer joy of spending time with you. You continue to want to keep everyone happy (though your mom and I have changed tack slightly so instead of putting ourselves in competition to you "who do you want to wash your hair tonight?" we take the decision making mental load off you by presenting an opt-out scenario "dadda is going to wash your hair tonight unless you don't want him to") and you came home with the most cooperative award from your second grade teacher. We are highly conscious of avoiding "good girl syndrome" with you, and we always want to make sure that you know you have the right to your own desires, needs and no's and that they will be listened to and respected. 

Your empathic streaks runs as hot as ever. Momma is coming out a few days after us to England, and you're sad about it. What we realized last night is not that you're going to be sad without Momma (let's be honest, you did a week in Florida with Nana and Papa and barely said hello to us!), but that you're worried Momma is going to be sad by herself in the house without you. She's excited to have some quiet time before the travels, so we'll spend today convincing you that everyone wins in this situation! 

You're still a goofball, and the sheer number of photos that people take of you pulling a silly face or just being goofy is delightful to see. One of your favorite things to do still is to wrestle with me, whether it's being picked up and thrown on the bed as a way of being woken up in the morning, having me lay (carefully!) on top of you on the couch, or being picked up and dropped down at the lake. You're growing big and tall, so I'll continue to do this until you're too big and my muscles are too weak to do it (or until you don't want me to any more, but I don't see that ending any time soon). 

As Nana said to me recently, 8 is the year that you're a bona fide kid; confident, sociable, caring, strong and brave to name just a few of the things I admire about you. This year will be another big year for you in so many ways, and I'll be by your side as you continue your journey of becoming Sophie. 

All my love

Dadda

Jake at 11

 Dear Jake-o, Jake-a, Iacopo,

Your birthday kind of snuck up on us this year. I don't know if it's because you're in that weird "tween" phase where you've hit the big milestone of 10 but haven't started the transition into teenagerhood (though you have the puberty talk coming up at school in a week or two, so I'm intrigued as to what you make of that!). I think it's also that you've been...not less excited about your birthday, but I think it holds less significance as you've started working out how to get your own money, and so your birthday isn't the only time during the year outside Christmas when you get things you want. We set you up with your first bank account so you could have a card to make purchases online and in person, and it's fun to send you electronic money in return for chores and completing Lexia levels. You continue to be a dragon hoarder, and you're very careful with your money (though if you can make someone else spring for something, you'll take that opportunity every time (looking at you, Nana and Papa!).

Your birthday party was a great insight into your friendship group. It was an exact repeat of your 10th party at Hilltop, down to the same guest list. You've made some solid friendships, and they're just a nice group of kids. You were never out of control, and you find joy in the small things, like bringing home an enormous bouncy ball from the arcade, or an exciting Pokemon pull. In a world where I ended up looking after three of your friends' phones, you aren't straining against our wishes for you to connect in person. Yes, you have a phone because you and Sophie have been taking the bus home alone this year, but it's often left around the home, and it's more frustrating for me to try and get hold of you in the afternoon if I need to ask you a question instead of trying to wrestle the phone away from you! Watching a few of your friends become absorbed into their phones at social events recently makes us more certain that we'll wait for as long as we can before turning on any additional features that will make your phone addictive. 

That's not to say you're not immersed in technology. While the weekends will find you playing soccer in various locations or shooting hoops (or trick shot videos!) outside, you'll always default to playing something on your Switch, or watching Dude Perfect or Mark Rober on Youtube. Both of these make your mom and I happy, especially as it's a good overlap between what you want to watch, what Sophie wants to watch, and stuff that me and your mom don't mind watching with you. Indeed, we were inspired by the Dude Perfect Overtime show that we used it to structure our recent April vacation, which was a great success to give us a range of fun activities (Cool Not Cool for $10 in Walmart!) and days out (discovering that mom is insane at laser tag and bowling!).

This year has been frustrating for you in terms of your jaw and your teeth as we found out that you had some long term trauma in the joint between your jaw and your skull. You toughed out a hard surgery and you're still in a recovery period where you can't chew anything more sturdy than a hamburger. Fortunately burritos are still on the menu as your favorite meal (though no doritos!), as well as pancakes and ice cream, so you're not wasting away. It's hard to have conversations with your doctors about the future, however, as it's going to involve some major jaw surgery, and while you're working hard at your jaw exercises, I really hope that you're doing them as well as you can so we can keep that surgery date away as long as possible. 

Coming back to soccer, it's been great to watch you think through what you want out of the sport. Last spring, you played at Rochester and were one of the better players on the team, which was a great confidence boost for you. It also served as a wake up call that you enjoy playing the sport enough to want to get better at it. You played rec in Strafford in the fall and fell in love with being a striker, and even when a whole bunch of your core friends were playing basketball, you asked us to sign you up for indoor soccer even with kids you didn't know. This worked out well, and it's led you to playing soccer in Northwood with 7th and 8th graders. It's hard work, but you're liking the challenge of having to prove yourself against the big kids (as well as learning how to dive when they use their size against you!). I also love that you're becoming interested in the wider world of soccer, and you're getting the hang of how the Premier League works, the intricacies of European soccer, and where Lionel Messi might play next season. I don't know if it's just a way you choose to connect with me, or if you find it as fascinating as I do, but I relish teaching you (informally) about one of my biggest passions. 

Lastly, let's just talk about how joyful it is having you at home these days. You have the capacity to be a sassy 11 year old trash talking me as you beat me at Mario Kart or Fifa repeatedly, but you're also a thoughtful kid who spends an hour on their mother's day card to include as many types of plants on there as possible. You are a wonderful brother to Sophie, always engaging with her in your games and play, and you always speak positively to her. The two of you are still very close, which I love to see given some of the relationships that your friends have with their siblings, and I hope that as you go through the upcoming puberty related changes that you always make time for her. 

I'm proud of the kid that you are, the friends that you've chosen, and the conscientious and responsible student we hear about from your school. You always get great reports from parties, sleepovers and playdates, and you're the kind of kid that every parent wants their own child to be friends with. Summer is coming up, and I can't wait to see what adventures we get up to. 

All my love,

Dadda

Sophie at 7

Dear Sofa/Sofa Dofa/Sweet Pea,

I can't believe what a difference a year makes. You have grown in so many different ways in this last year (not only in height, meaning you're no longer the smallest of your friends!). Your confidence has really taken off, and even though your teachers and friends report that you're relatively quiet in the classroom, it couldn't be more different when you're at home or hanging out with your friends. You are a regular sassy first grade with a great sense of humor, and you're as likely to try and play a trick on me when I tuck you up at night (the old close your eyes and open your mouth usually ends up with your stinky toes in my face!) as you are to give me a cuddle. 

I think my favorite change in this last year is to see you really become your own person. While you continue to be close to your brother (and long may that continue), you are finding your own interests and opinions on things. For example, for no reason that we can discern, you are completely obsessed with Stitch, to the point where you spent your shovelling money (thank you for saving my back on that walkway!) on a massive Stitch stuffy at Disney earlier this year. You also decided out of nowhere that you wanted a Leeds United soccer kit, and a fish tank of your own for your birthday. This comes from your increased confidence, and I love watching you step out from your brother's shadow more to become your own person. 

I've also loved you making a good group of friends this year. Covid definitely screwed things up in terms of playdates and birthday parties during your kindergarten year, but you've come home talking about a good range of different kids in your class. It was great to see some of them at your birthday party recently, and you were right in the middle of the action for the whole day. However, the one person you really wanted to see there was Martin. Fortunately you and Momma had been to his birthday the week before, and you're going on a play date tomorrow. You write about him most days in our gratitude cards (when we remember to do them) and Momma says that you're a sweet pair of friends. Long may that continue, and I'm excited to see how your friendship skills develop in this upcoming year. 

Speaking of your birthday party, you have a delightful appreciation for the world around you. As I tucked you up that night, you sighed and said that you wished the day could start all over again because it had been the best day ever. Now, this is a good thing for a parent to hear as you always want birthday parties to go right, but it's not the first time you've declared a day to be the best day ever. Most days at Disney fell into that category, but also our recent hike day with ice cream, and a trip to the trampoline park also makes you feel like the world is a pretty great place. We've got some big ticket trips coming up this summer to continue to fill your bucket, but I hope that you continue to find joy and pleasure in the small things as well as the big. 

Your love affair with Nana and Papa continues unabated (you would go and live there given half a chance!) and this was definitely helped with Papa came to coach your softball team. You showed a grit and determination in all your games and practices, probably helped by another best friend in Tessa. The two of you were hilarious to watch, and you came home from each game and practice with stories from the dugout. I wonder if you'll want to play again next year, as I think you've got your heart set on gymnastics in the fall. 

For all your sassy comments and playful nature, you continue to demonstrate your heart of gold. You always make sure that everything is fair (I called you the best girl kid the other day and you automatically added that Jake is the best boy kid) and that you give equal attention to both me and Momma. You still love to play and hang out with your brother, and I love it when you come and find me when I'm doing garden work or chores and offer to help because it's a fun thing to do. With summer vacation finally here, I'm excited to spend much more time with you and watching you continue to grow in all sorts of new and fascinating ways. 

All my love, 
Dadda

Jake at 10

 Dear Jake, 

As much as your mother and I tease you about not wanting you to turn 10, it feels like a natural step for you. You've seemed to grow up in so many ways this year, whilst retaining your innocence (toilet humor is still the funniest thing for you and Sophie!) and ability to be a goofball kid (see how you still find it funny to drop things on my head from the upstairs balcony some times). Both of us work with 10 year olds who are desperate to be teenagers, but you're very happy being 10. We see parts of this growing up as you listen to our conversations and join, asking what we're talking about forming your own opinions, as well as noticing how you take more responsibility in your life. Watching you run through your morning routine, work out how to put your bands on your braces and think critically about how to spend the money that comes into your possession tells me that you're taking those steps towards maturity, and it's delightful as a parent to watch. 

You have a solid group of friends around you, and it was wonderful to host your birthday party at Hilltop Fun Center yesterday so you could disappear and play laser tag and go karting to your heart's content. You have your crew of Jack, Judah, Willy, Brody, Brandon and Michael, and you're a good group of friends to each other. There was a lot of lovely text messages after your party where Jack's mom said that you're exactly the kind of friend that they wished for Jack, and I can see why. You're calm with a wicked goofy streak, respectful but able to tease and torment when you know it's safe to do so (your insistence that you'll cut me out of any lottery tickets wins is now an ongoing family joke!) and responsible with the ability to take sensible risks. You've started doing sleepovers at Michael's house, and you're apparently one of the only kids who managed to stay the night on the first try. I think this is down to your confidence and that not much phases you.

This has been a good year for your self-confidence. I think part of it is that change that all 4th graders seem to go through during the year, and while there's some things I'd change about your schooling (the addiction to homework and spelling, and some of the things your teacher says), I'd overall say that Mrs Garland has been a good influence on you. You've grown in confidence in skiing, easily outstripping us in terms of your skill level. While it was fun to go on green mountain with you and Brandon, I loved the days when you'd disappear with Brandon's friends and a walkie talkie for hours, and I can't wait to get on the mountain again with you. 

You have belief in your own ability in math, and while you can still get frustrated to the point of tears, I see you calming down quicker and more able to move on from them. This skill has definitely been honed by the Nintendo Switch, which was a big gamble on our part. However, our concerns that you'd become a one dimensional kid only able to talk about his video games is unfounded, and actually something really positive has come through. When asked how you'd like to spend your birthday money, you chose an extra controller, soccer leg straps and an Olympics game all with the intention of having everyone play together. You get Sophie involved, and even Mamma will play bowling with us more often that not. The Switch has become a unifying power in your hands, and while there are times that you'll get lost in your games, you've also got a plan of how to allow everyone to enjoy it.

I can't talk about this last year without talking about soccer. I had a lot of fun being your soccer coach in the fall, and we forged a great team with the Tigers. I was even able to teach you about the English fear of penalties (after we watched just about every game at Euro 2020!), and you enjoyed the irony of getting knocked out of a tournament that way. When it came to spring sports sign ups, you chose soccer even though all of your friends play baseball or lacrosse. We go to Rochester to play where you knew no-one, but you're confident enough to make friends easily now. You're also one of the 3 best players on the team, and it's been a really positive experience for you. You are more willing to run with the ball, go past players, get the ball back and shoot on goal, even getting your first goal in a game yesterday (must have been the birthday adrenaline!). I'm not sad to admit that I love that you're falling in love with the beautiful game as it will serve as a permanent connection for us in years to come, both on the field and in the stands. 

As always, I can't wait to see what this year brings. You're currently knee deep in Pokemon cards, Nintendo Switch games and soccer, all of which bring you joy. You've still got that lovely sense of humor, used more often than not to tell puns and to torture me or Momma, and you'll still ask "Dadda can I tell you something" when you're ready to share what excitement has happened. 5th grade brings a new set of challenges, as well as opportunities (the school soccer team and being able to take the bus home by yourself for example) and I can't wait to see how you handle them.

Despite being 10, you're yelling at me from upstairs to come "tuck you in" which means a tickle fight, setting the alarm by whacking your cheeks and booping your nose, and generally wrestling with you until you laugh so hard. It's still one of my favorite parts of the day and long it may in continue.

Love you

Dadda 

Sophie at 6

 Dear Sofa/Sophie Dophie/Pophins/Sweet Pea,

What a wild and crazy year it's been! You finished your Kindergarten year yesterday with the COVID pandemic slowing down here in New Hampshire, and you've taken it all in your stride. You've been at school all year (apart from those bloody Flex Fridays) and looking through your writing work that you brought home brought a tear to my eye as you're a classic kindergartener in terms of how you write and what you write about. Your big heart is clear to see that even with the ability to remove your mask more at school, you're still concerned about Nana and your classmates to keep it on (you were the only one wearing one in your end of year class photo!).

This big heart extends especially to your brother. He had one last day of school today which gave you a rainy birthday at home with both Momma and Dadda. For most kids, this would be a delight, and while you clearly enjoyed having our undivided attention, you gave your Sophie sigh a few times throughout the day and told us how much you missed your brother. You two have become extremely close this year (in part because you've not seen many other kids outside of school hours!) and with your confidence and incredible language skills you're able to play all sorts of funny and creative games. You still follow his lead most of the time, but you're becoming more able to find your voice and use your negotiation skills to find games to play that both of you feel happy with. While I love that you'll disappear with Jake to go play, there's a little part of me that sees the future where you need me less and less and I'm having to start steeling myself for those days (and making sure that I revel in the times you still want me to play!)

Your other big love is your cousin Henry. The two of you are hilarious and a little crazy when you get together, but you've told us multiple times you're moving to Connecticut to live with Henry. You couldn't be more excited when you found out they are moving to Marblehead, and that Henry is coming to spend the week prior to Allie's wedding here in New Hampshire. He matches your energy levels but the two of you don't get out of control (you rarely do anyway) and you act almost like a big sister to him as well as a close friend.

This year has seen you start to find your voice in terms of your own interests and desires, and there's a clear thought process going on as you work out who you are and who you want to be; yesterday you decided you wanted a full Mc (Mix!) Donald's meal and you kept turning down hot pink swim suits which I was sure that you'd gravitate towards (though you still kept your preference for bright neon colors). You've set your heart on running your own store when you grow up and while you keep changing what this store is going to sell, you've been set on this since last summer. The best insight into your vision is when you invited Momma for lunch at your store and told her she could eat in the cafeteria with the other workers...

A big learning curve for me this year (and most years I think!) is realizing how wicked smart you are. This might be because you still use your baby voice sometimes, or that you're my little sweet pea but I'm learning never to underestimate you. You follow complex story lines in Harry Potter and are able to make accurate guesses as to who might appear in certain dramatic sequences. You've gotten into game playing, and can absolutely hold your own in Ticket to Ride, making complex plans and strategies (as well as learning about the importance of shaking your fist at those who block your plans). You've also got into playing with words and regularly play pun and rhyming games with me (these tend to have a potty themed but they're pretty hilarious nonetheless!) This coming year will only you see get smarter so I need to make sure that my brain is ready for you!

Above all, you're a sweet hearted kid (while you like to tease me and Momma, you always make sure that everyone knows that you're joking and that you love everyone equally) with a lovely goofy side. You're friendly to everyone ('Hi, I'm Sophie!" is now your standard greeting) and you're always in the middle of things with groups of kids, whether it's Custom Pools t-ball or playing with the neighbors. It's another stay home summer and I can't wait to spend the coming weeks and months with you.

Love you

Dadda

Jake at 9

 Dear Jaka,

What a lot has happened since your last birthday! We've survived a year of the COVID pandemic, and life is tentatively getting back to normal - you've been back at school full time for a few months now and you're deep into baseball season (more on that later). You've moved on from Pokemon to Harry Potter, mainly inspired by your mother who started reading the books with you and Sophie back in January (I think?), which has meant that your entire birthday Lego collections have been Harry Potter themed, and your cat, coming next week, will be called Patronus. It's also meant that we've been watching the movies after each book, and you have such a great understanding and recall of how all these complex storylines weave together (and the desire to cast the Avada Kedavra curse on any of the bad characters). 

Looking back, it's been great to see you become more confident in yourself this year. You're much more able to handle disappointment and frustration, and you just seem happier embracing the things that you love and enjoy. You're mastering that golden lesson that life sometimes isn't fair; like today, when we made you go to the plant store (which you HATE), you found the silver lining in bringing your Hogwarts Express train and hanging out with me as we shopped for this year's vegetables. You share just about everything with your sister, and while you and she can sometimes squabble, you most of the time spend your weekends giggling with her and reveling in the fact that she finds potty humor funny with you now. 

You continue your ever inquisitive nature. Every car journey, no matter how long or short, turns into a discussion about whatever's on your mind (or whatever Momma and I are talking about). This means you end up thinking about abortion, adoption, Black Lives Matters, the state of American politics and physics amongst a whole raft of things, and you never seem to run out of questions. You clearly store everything away; the weekend when we found that Nana was really sick and Momma was really sad and spent a lot of time with Papa, you didn't say anything, but when we told you what was going on, you turned round and said "that makes sense, there's been a lot of weird things recently". 

Your approach to sports continues to fascinate me. Deep down, you're still a homebody, so even though you talk to me about wanting to practice more on the drive home from each game or practice, you'll always default to playing Splatoon, Roblox, Legos or with your sister given the choice of how to spend your time. We will always follow your lead on this and will never push you, especially as you report out that you really enjoy playing the games, and you definitely like to watch and commentate (especially with something from the snack shack, which you're trying to sample everything from this year). 

You're developing a good sense of value of the world around you. While you've always been shrewd with your money (and your sister's!), putting you in charge of the spending for your birthday and for Christmas has helped you be more realistic about the value of things. For example, you understood that spending more money on your drone this year would result in less actual things on your birthday, but also a better quality product that would last a long time (as long as we don't lose it in Nana and Papa's woods again or trap it in Sophie's hair!). You do like spending money on Roblox, and it's been interesting watching your desire for money battle against your desire not to do boring chores which we pay you to do.  There's definitely some thinking going about how much effort you need to put in versus how much money you get paid, and long may that critical thinking continue!

I can't promise what this next year will look like. I do know that you'll see more of your friends outside of school (we've already got two big hikes planned with Jack and Judah aka the J brothers), and I do know that we'll spend plenty of time around our house and Nana and Papa's this summer because that's what you love to do, and I do know that we will continue to be your biggest cheerleaders and supporters no matter what.

Love you big kid,

Dada