Nathan is 9 years old! Luckily his birthday was a lot more normal this year compared to last year. He actually got to have a birthday party in person with friends! We hosted the party at our favorite Centennial Park and lucked out with beautiful weather. He invited about 6 friends and his grandparents to his party and almost everyone came! Safe to say he was in heaven and it filled his cup so much to be with his friends in person--especially since he did virtual school the entire school year.
The birthday party theme this year was Minecraft. The kids played some games in the grass, rode their bikes around the path, did a pinata, had a dance party, and ate cake. Grampa made an awesome homemade Minecraft theme cake. Overall it was a simple and fun party and exactly what Nathan needed after a year of pandemic.
- Nathan is consistently one of the most happy, content, and enthusiastic people we know. He has a zest for life that is contagious and very refreshing with all the hard stuff going on in the world. He wakes up happy and ready for the day and mostly stays that way throughout. We are so grateful for the positivity he brings to our household
- Nate is a morning person where the rest of us are not. Sometimes it takes us awhile to catch up to him in the morning, but he is patient with us. He is usually raring to go in the morning and is great about doing the "process" on his own--getting dressed, brushing teeth and making his bed
- Nathan is curious all. the. time. He wants to know about and understand everything. We love his curiosity and wonderment for this world and all the things around him. But poor guy--many times I find myself saying "I don't know." But he asks great questions and I hope his curiosity is never quenched.
- He survived a full year of virtual school!!! We are so proud of Nathan and all that he accomplished this past crazy year. He persevered and even made the experience enjoyable as best he could. Thank goodness for his incredible teacher, Ms. Ziemer (Roberts) who helped him survive and thrive. He gained crazy amounts of technology skills and knowledge. And his favorite subjects were science and math (depending on the topic).
- He is extremely creative and his imagination just gets bigger and better with every year. The kids in our alleyway love playing with him because he is always making up fun games or scenarios for them to play.
- He currently loves Pokemon, Minecraft, Legos, Bayblades, Zoobs, Nintendo Switch, boardgames, drawing make believe characters, and reading. He consumes any kind of book that has interesting facts, history or information in it related to animals, biology, nature, history, or geography.
- He played flag football again this past spring and loved it! So far football is his favorite sport both to play and watch. He also plays soccer in the fall and skis in the winter. He is doing swimming lessons this summer.
- Nathan is a typical first child--rule follower, pretty mindful and obedient (except when it comes to screen time). He is a great older brother to Cameron. They obviously have their moments and fights, but Nathan is good about including Cameron, showing him the ropes and building him up.
- This summer Nathan is doing summer camp mostly at Camp RAD which he loves. He's made some good friends there with kids that have come year over year like him.
- His good friends right now are Sam, Griffin, Alden, Jazi, Teagan and friends at camp.
- These recent ages--like 7 through now have been such a joy with Nathan. I want time to stop--no more growing up! Just soaking up this special time as much as we can.
