Julia turns 9!

 Julia,

You are thoughtful, and silly, and impish, and earnest, and capable. You are loving and crazy, you are strong and smart. You are adventurous and friendly and always, always, you have a plan...and a way to execute it.

This year you really got into Roblox, and making your own videos about Roblox. Before that, you made and edited your own videos about your dolls and other toys in your room and made your own Youtube channel: Julia's Sweet Things.

And we made lots of silly movies together- you, me and Aidan-under your clever direction:

You've been working very hard on learning piano, and this year you had your first recital!

Also, you fell in love with Drama this year, thanks to 2 acting camps over the summer! You were a princess, an old lady, a lemur, a monkey, and you had SO much fun!

You excel at school, and give your schoolwork- and your friends- your all. Your teacher told us you were an inspiration. Your're grateful and you get along with everyone. You're not a complainer, but you will advocate for yourself. You are precocious and a rule-follower. 

One time this year, you got in a little bit of trouble at school. You decorated your body with a Sharpie beauty mark. Your friends followed suit and weren't as restrained as just putting a beauty mark. The Sharpies were taken away, and your teacher let you know that she wanted to talk to you the next day. You were so upset at yourself; you confided in us that you felt you had let your teacher down and your friends down. You were worried that the Sharpies would be taken away permanently, and that really upset you. Because you love to use them in your art. You made a plan. The next day at school you would talk to your teacher and apologize and promise to never do it again. You were so worried she'd be mad at you. Well, you executed your plan, and the teacher was not mad at you at all; in fact, she appreciated you coming to her and being honest.

And that is just a snap-shot of who you are at 9. We can't wait to see what comes next, and will be by your side as you continue to learn and grow!

You are Creative, silly, serious, strong, amazing, wonderful, loving. And I'm so proud to be your Dad! And I love you forever! Wave riders forever! Survivor Forever! Tootsie Rolls forever! Beavers Bend forever! Ka-kaw Ka-kaw!

Aidan Number Nine

Aidan Powell Weinstein, today you are nine!

In your nine years on earth you've grown, but you've also challenged me and mommy to grow even more. 

You've taught me so much about life, and love, and perseverance, and patience. You've challenged me to be a better person, and a better dad, and a better friend...and I'm still learning. We're still learning together.

At nine years old...you are inquisitive, passionate, dramatic, loving, wonderfully innocent, funny. You have strong emotional powers: you can liven up a room with your energy and your smile. You are a dedicated brother, like you've been since before Julia was born.

You love books...you'll spend hours with them...especially late at night with your comic books. I'll come into your room after bed time, catch you with a comic book in hand, and you smile and say "how did that get there?"

You recently really started to love reading too. You declared to me and mommy just over winter break that you're "officially a reader!" You're learning and (mostly) enjoying the challenge...and most days you want the challenge and initiate the reading yourself! But, don't get me wrong, you still LOVE to be read to...and many, many people in your life love reading to you! (We're almost done with the entire BONE graphic novel series, by the way!)

You are loving, and playful, and love a good laugh, tickle, wrestle, and cuddle. 

But, you don't like kisses. Not from Aunt Sham. Don't want any from girls in your class (yet). You- according to you- ONLY want kisses from Mommy and Daddy, and I'm okay with that for now! I'll take all the Aidan kisses I can get!

You LOVE video games. Especially Mario. Mostly Mario. And Yoshi. That's why we all chipped in and got you a Nintendo Switch. You've grown so much and you have proven that you can handle the responsibility. And you've been sharing, and playing, and loving it. You even invited Uncle Joe over to have a few video game playdates!

You love you Mama, and you love your Daddy. 

...And we love you too!

On your special day, we decorated your room with NINE balloons:

I made you special pancakes, including one that looked like a Number 9 (if you squint, and know that it was supposed to be a number).

You delighted in experimenting with the balloons, and wearing your crown, and generally aimed to make yourself -and us- laugh, be merry, and happy. 

Instead of a big party, you invited your sister and two close friends to come hang out and see "How to train your dragon 3." You played; you ate popcorn, you played 'dragons' in the theater lobby. 

The celebration continued with Legos, family, and friends. 

You are an amazing boy; and I wish that part of you will always have your nine-year-old sense of optimism, wonderment, open heart, creativity, passion, drive, sense of humor and silliness. As you grow into the man you are becoming, your mother and I are so proud of who you are, how hard you work, and how much love you share.