Another teenager!

Ian turned thirteen years old today, and today also marks the second anniversary of the day Milo joined our family! He's thankful that his bedtime has been moved to 10:00pm. In many ways he is the same as he has been for years such as enjoying playing the piano, giving lots of hugs, his favorite color is green, and eating a peanut butter and marmalade sandwich on honey wheat bread for lunch almost every day. Here are some things that are more recent developments. 

1. He's been chatting with some of his cousins in Ecuador (mostly Joel and Nathan) fairly often via FaceTime. Sometimes they play Brawl Stars together. 

2. If he has money to spend, he usually spends it on either Brawl Stars (via Apple) or for something on the Nintendo Switch. 

3. He frequently asks for us to play games together. His favorite game at the moment is Exploding Kittens.

4. Before he asks me a question, he almost always says "I have a question."

5. He often talks in a voice that he says is like Villager News from Minecraft. Previously, he had a habit of snapping his fingers many, many times during the day, but that habit has come to an end at least for now.

6. Ian enjoys doing Algebra I via Teaching Textbooks and is looking forward to making more progress with learning Python in a few months. His current aspiration is to be a computer programmer.

7. He usually remembers to give a tithe at church. 

8. Ian is getting new glasses this week. I'm waiting until we pick them up to take his 13th birthday portrait. 

9. His retainer has only ended up a garbage can once, but we were able to retrieve it from the trash at Panera Bread. Thankfully it's never been broken or lost. 

10. He has drastically improved his performance in Bible quizzing the last three months compared to during the last school year. 

11. If his small group is dismissed before I come down to get him, he plays pool with some other boys in the youth center. 

12. He sings and makes other noises rather frequently throughout the day. He was a member of the Camerata choir (middle school) of the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale for the first time this fall. 

13. The last few months Ian has been responsible for brushing Milo's fur and teeth every day.

Ian's birthday celebration began on December 8 when we drove to the Poconos for an overnight at Great Wolf Lodge. The kids enjoyed spending two days in the water park. We packed one lunch and used gift cards at Dunkin' Donuts and Red Robin over the two days. We saw the play "Miracle on 34th Street" in Williamsport on Friday night. Due to various people being sick, our plans for Saturday (dinner at the Seiberts' house) and Sunday (getting together with Al, Millie, and Pop Pop) were cancelled. When I realized Ian wouldn't be having a birthday cake from Aunt Millie, I asked him what dessert he wanted to have. He chose peanut butter cup cookies, which is something I haven't made for a few years. I don't think years will pass before I make them again! I also got him a two liter of Root Beer and a bag of Barbecue chips which are two treats he enjoys that I don't purchase very often. We let him open his birthday gifts yesterday afternoon, and it was my turn to plan a family fun night. We played Quiddler, watched the first episode of the third season of The Chosen, and ate soft pretzels. He enjoyed using his new Switch controllers, playing his new Switch game, and started reading a book I got him. Four boys were supposed to come over for a play date this afternoon, but that also will have to be rescheduled due to illness. Ian, Nadia, and I are going to have dinner at Bonanza before I take them to their choir rehearsal tonight. The only negative in my mind regarding the fact that two of my kids are now teenagers is that it means there aren't many years left until they are old enough to fly from the nest. I love Ian Alexander so very much and am so grateful for the privilege of being his mom and teacher!