11.5 Years Old

Today is Ian's half birthday. Sometimes I feel badly for him that his birthday is so close to Christmas, but I think it works to his advantage sometimes. Usually if the kids ask me to buy something for them I tell them to either save up the money so they can buy it for themselves or put it on a wish list for their birthday or Christmas. In Ian's case, this means sometimes he has to wait a L O N G time if he chooses the wish list option. If he asks me for a Lego set, he's going to have to buy it himself or wait, but there are other things I choose to buy for him even though it's not his birthday or any other holiday. For example, earlier this month he asked for a Mario piano book. Because I want to encourage him to play the piano more this summer, I purchased it. Similarly, he and Oliver had been playing tennis in our driveway on a regular basis so I bought them 3 new tennis balls and then purchased a portable tennis net that they could use in our driveway. Ian typically doesn't spend too much time outside so I was again in favor of buying something that would encourage him to spend more time outside and get more exercise. 

Since we started the tradition this year of the kids getting a date with a parent for their birthday and half-birthday, Ian has chosen to go bowling and having dinner at Texas Roadhouse tonight with Paul.

1. At the age of 11.5, Ian is entering middle school! He attended youth group for the first time a few days ago. He will be participating in the youth group at our church and also FBC along with Nadia, and he will be joining Bible Bowl in the fall. He observed one Bible Bowl meeting this past Wednesday afternoon. 

2. Ian still really enjoys playing the piano. I'm hoping we'll play more duets together this summer. Lately he's been working on learning how to play songs in his new Mario book and also playing other music on the electronic keyboard we recently inherited from Pop Pop and Grandma's house. I can't say I'm a fan of the Mario music, but typically I usually really enjoy listening to Ian play the piano.

3. Ian has a few different series of books that he really enjoys such as Magic Treehouse, Imagination Station, Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, Paddington Bear, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Tumtum and Nutmeg, and Olga da Polga. Many of his favorite books feature animals as the main characters. Typically he reads fiction, but lately he's been reading the non-fiction book, Bulu: African Wonder Dog. 

4. He loves to draw with colored pencils, and many of his drawings feature characters from Mario. He definitely spends more time drawing than anyone in our family. 

5. Ian prefers to play on the Nintendo Switch rather than the Wii, iPad, or watch TV. Unlike his brother, he almost always earns and uses the maximum amount of screen time per day (1hr 40 minutes) which he usually uses in 20 minute increments. He has a hard time ending his turn with the timer goes off on the Echo dot.

6. Ian enjoys listening to music. Two of his favorite artists are Jordan Feliz and Parry Gripp. 

7. Ian still loves to give hugs and snuggle. I hope that never changes!!!

8. For most of his life he's been the first one up in our house, but over the last few months Ian has learned how to sleep in. He still doesn't sleep as long as Nadia, but he's not always the first one up. It varies whether he or Oliver get up first of the three kids. He likes being able to stay up until 9:30pm.

9. He's definitely a homebody who doesn't like our schedule to be very busy. His siblings are the opposite of him in both regards. Sometimes we have to give him nudges to try new things and to be independent. 

10. He spends a lot of time playing with Nadia. Two of his friends are Micah Schreck and Ean Shaffer. I'm hoping that he'll make more friends this year through the youth groups and Bible bowl. He also loves to play with his cousins, especially Joel and Nathan.

11. Buttercup is technically Ian's pet, but in reality all three guinea pigs are Nadia's. Ian does clean the guinea pig cage every other week, but that's the extent of his interaction with any of the guinea pigs. He takes Milo out two times a day, and Milo sleeps in his crate in Ian's bedroom every night. 

1/2 - Ian has had an expander in his mouth for the last four months. Welcome to the world of orthodontics, Ian. 

I can't believe I have two middle schoolers!!! It's been a delight to watch Ian grow over the last 11.5 years, and I look forward to seeing how he will grow in the coming months and years. Te amo mucho!