Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Landon turned 9!

Landon is 9! 

On his actual birthday, he had to do the normal kid stuff....like go to school. But he handed out a little treat. He chose what was for dinner.....a pizza buffet. And then opened gifts and cards from family that had been mailed. 

On Sunday, we threw him a Nerf themed party using the gym at our church. 11 boys being trained in target shooting, agility courses, and evasion tactics. And then of course, they got to shoot at each other. And because it was an odd number, I had to get in on the action to make the teams even. I was a much easier target though since I am bigger than them. I still have a tender spot on my forehead where I got hit at close range. We had bought bulk knock-off Nerf darts online for a great price, but the tips were a little harder than actual Nerf darts. The darts definitely flew faster and hit harder. 


And we enjoyed simple snacks like Nerf Juice, Popcorn Ammo, Cheezy Bullets, Targets (orange slices), Carrot Darts, and cupcakes (sorry, I couldn't think of a clever themed name for them). 

Minimal decorations. We already had an arsenal of Nerf guns and most boys brought their own as well. No cost for using our church's gym. We provided all of the boys with protective eyewear glasses and a utility belt to hold their darts that they could take home with them. The total for both items ended up costing only around $1.50 per kid. 

Only minimal marital conflict as we finalized the games and order of events the night before, once again being reminded of how differently the two of us operate and plan. 

But Landon declared it was his best birthday party yet. We've thrown some pretty fun ones, so I'll consider this one a success. 



Here's what Landon is like at 9 years old:
- He LOVES to read. Mostly mystery, sci-fi, and adventure...with a little bit of humor. I have to tell him to put books down sometimes. He has one under his pillow, takes one in the car, and generally never has one far from him. 
- He is still pretty passionate about soccer and can't wait for this spring. This winter we also introduced him to basketball and martial arts. I have also mildly been trying to teach him some piano. 
- Still is very social and loves people of all ages. Its been interesting to watch him be the new kid at school though and how he has processed that. He was very selective on who he wanted to invite to his birthday party....which was a major shift from past years when I had to limit him to how many he could invite. He said he gets along with all of the boys in his class....but he just doesn't really hang out with some of them. He doesn't seem at all bothered by it. And part of it is probably just age and kids starting to have actual friend groups, where in younger ages you are friends with everybody. 
-  He has taken an interest in stamp collecting (since he read a book that had something about it). He has a nice pile of them thanks to his Grandma Strahm and he also now has an album to start putting them in. 
- He's been referred and recommended to begin orthodontia work. Apparently his upper palette is too small and it doesn't look like there is room for some of his adult teeth to grow in. He's excited about it.....I don't think he understands the restrictive eating part or the pain part yet. 
- But that's Landon. Very easily excitable. Making him for a very fun kid. He is generally very optimistic and eager.
- He's one of the smaller boys in his class. 
- His favorite things in school are.....gym, recess, library, and computers. 
- Sometimes he is a GREAT big brother. And other times, I am appalled.
 
We consider ourselves so very blessed and are grateful to have him in our family.