Steven at 9

Steven,

I still cannot believe that you turned 9 today. You are honesty the sweetest kid ever. So caring, good-hearted and loving, always thinking of others and meaning well. Wanting to do things on your own and always wanting to push yourself beyond your limits to test your abilities I assume and if you don't succeed it does not prevent you from trying again. You are fearless child of mine. From riding the tallest roller coaster to riding mountain bikes and watching the most horrendous and scariest movie out there. I don't understand how gross things don't bother you at your age. And yes, we do let you watch some scary movies with us (by us I mean your father, I don't get near a scary movie). We feel that there are things in life that are definitely not appropriate for kids but there are other things that whether with our approval or not you will do and we rather you do them or in this case watch them with us not behind us. We want to keep the line of communication and trust open with you while also maintaining clear understanding the line between parent and child. So far I think we've done well. What do you think? Many might not agree with our ways but is okay because we don't care what others might say or think. At the end of the day you are our son and we will be the ones held accountable for the way you turn out to be as an adult whether or not we raise you with or without the opinions of others.

You are the perfect combination of your father and I. Your looks is a well balanced mixture of that of your daddy's and I, lucky you :). Many say you look so much like me but when I look at you I only see your daddy. Maybe because of your body and manly features. You're very tall for your age and the same goes for your weight. Although you are not considered overweight. I would say that you are well nourished ;) You've always been this way though, always above average in the charts.

Things you love:

Food. This is your weakness and I can't blame you because you inherited this gene from both daddy and me. We love food. Unfortunately for you if you do not keep it under control the weight will creep up on you. That comes from your paternal side. Unless of course you inherited my genes in that department, if so then eat away my child because as of yet I've been lucky enough to eat all I want and not get overweight. Except for fast food, those pounds do became noticeable in just a couple of months. I'm sure that you'll be fine though. You have your gym-aholic father as a role model for staying fit. Even at your age you ask to go to the gym with him or for him to create a "workout plan" that you can do because you want a "six-pack" hahaha. Oh Steven, you are the light of my eyes.

While we are in this topic I should add that this summer as a way to bond with you more now that you are nearing the teens and to instill healthy habits in you we will be going out for walk and workout sessions together as well as reading books. I hope this bonding time will bring us closer together and create another level of trust and communication between us that will become beneficial sooner than later. I look forward on seeing what this new age will bring and how it'll affect your individual relationships with us. Although I'm a little scare because I don't quite now how I can help you in the years ahead being that you are a boy and all. I'm staying hopeful though.

Fashion: I'm sure I've said this before but you sure have a sense for fashion. Mainly for sneakers. You love shoes, all kinds. Sandals, boots, dressy, sneakers, cleats, you name it. But when it comes to putting an outfit together? Oh Lord have mercy. Hahaha. Your sense of matching is combining over three shades of the same color and you know "it matches because is the same color". That's always your argument to try and get away with it which by the way doesn't work buddy. You also like the "skinny jeans for boys" trend and although I don't mind it too much I simply cannot wrap my head around it when I see you wearing it. It doesn't help that you are growing at an immensely rapid pace so jeans need to be replaced every three months or so if not they are sure to be extra tight on you and I am not exaggerating. The fact that you butt was double blessed does not help the situation. I hope you grow out of that if not a career as a baseball player will suit you well the the fashion department ;)

Sports: You've always been into sports and have played baseball for the past 4 years now but this year you had a great season. Aside from your team winning all but 1 game you have played various positions from catcher, pitcher, outfield, and pretty much all bases. You loved it this year and with good reasons, they kept you busy. I'm so proud of you little man. The coach and the other fathers say you have potential and that you can make it far if you focus and that brings me so much joy. Seeing that others are able to recognize your talents without even knowing you well enough is one of the greatest feeling for me. Some even tell me that we should sign you up for football this fall , I'm still a bit hesitant about it because you will be new to that sport and honestly I just want to protect you but I don't know, now that you are 9 this might be the year for football. We shall see. By the way you my child made the All-Star team this season. Games start next week! 

Music/Viola: Ever since you joined the orchestra at the school this past January your interest for music has increased even more. You were always interested in singing and I even have several videos of you singing and rapping when you were younger (oh the memories). Lately however, I've noticed that you like music a lot more. You bring the iPad into the bathroom with you when you shower and tell us that you only want to listen to music ( I always thought that you played games while in there because I caught you once taking a bath and playing with the iPad in the bath tub... I almost had a heart attack). Since the Orchestra is part choir too you get to sing and you love to practice at home. You bring your lyrics sheet home and practice til you have memorized the song then you walk around singing and practicing your viola. I love how happy music makes you :)

Your Brother: You are an amazing big brother. Always protecting him, helping him, teaching him, loving him. AJ is lucky to have you as his big brother. As I've said before the bond between the two of you is pure love. I hope it never changes.


Technology. Of course that in this age this one is a given. For months now you have been asking for a cell phone as your birthday gift. But not just any cell phone you asked for an iPhone. Oh dear, what are we going to do with you? If this is now I'm afraid of what you'll ask as a 16th birthday gift. I have a feeling that that is a given too.

I have to admit that not everything is flowers and cupcakes with you. You my child are as stubborn as they come. Not only do you push yourself to the limit but you also push us and test our patience. I don't want to say that you are a "bad disrespectful kid" because you know better but you sure own a temper. I've always felt that you had anger issues and is hard for you to express your emotions but your daddy says that that's normal, that you are simply being a kid, and that he was the same way at your age. We do practice your breathing and talking out your frustrations when needed and that seems to help but the stubbornness within you refuses to admit that doing those thing does truly help you. I do admit of being guilty of loosing my cool with you more often than I should. I hope that this coming year we become more in sync with each other and that we become closer. You are without doubt a daddy's boy and sometimes it makes me jealous because you're supposed to be a mamas boy like AJ. I guess I will win some and lose some.

Happy Birthday Steven! May God Bless you today and always and bring you life, health, and happiness for the rest of your life.

We love you son.