Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Landon turns 10!

Landon turned 10 last month. TEN! 

I have memories of being in 4th grade and being ten! 


The above picture is the day of his birthday when we opened gifts from family and such. Thanks to those that send special things for our boys! They love having things to open from you all!
And this was a fun gift from his Great-Grandma Willis! Adam had played college baseball for IWU and had given this shirt as a gift to his younger stepbrother....likely back in 2002(ish?). She saved it and sent it to Landon for his birthday.
(You'll have to excuse the super-tired puffy looking face.....This pic was taken one morning before school)

He really wanted to have a SLEEPOVER for his birthday this year. I was a little hesitant about this. We haven't really done too much of this and there are lots of warnings out there about letting your kids do sleepovers, so I wasn't sure if others would be comfortable with it. But we let him invite 4 friends (3 of which spent the night). 

They had dinner with us. They had NERF battles over in the church gym. They played video games. Adam designed an "escape room" experience for them that they really enjoyed. And they watched a movie. I think they slept. I don't know. I'm the mom and enjoyed the quiet and comfort of my bed after 10pm. Adam slept in the basement guestroom while the boys slept on the couches and floor in our basement living room. 



This is what it looks like when the birthday boy is opening a pack of Pokemon cards that he got as a gift.


Overall, they all had a good time. Landon said it was his favorite birthday party (he's been saying that every year). I loved having the extra boys in my home. (They were soooooo loud at times....but they didn't eat nearly as much as I expected). Really hope that as our boys grow that we can provide a home in which they want to invite their friends into. 

Here's what Landon is like at 10:
- He is still a voracious reader. He prefers mystery, sci-fi and humor type books. 
- He likes to play with Pokemon cards, Skylander figures, and Legos. 
- When he grows up he says he wants to be an American Ninja Warrior. If that doesn't work out, he wants to be a professional soccer player. And if that doesn't work out, he thinks he'd like to be a teacher. 
- He is super involved in school clubs and thinks he is the most actively involved 4th grader....He's currently doing Rock Club, Chess Club, Student Council, and Spell Bowl. Oh, and his favorite, Stock Market Club. Of which he was the top finisher in his school recently. And also the top elementary student in the state! Maybe we should let him handle some of our money?! 
- He kinda thinks he knows everything. We have to remind him he does not. 
- He loves people of all ages and still extremely socially motivated. Always wanting to know who we can have over or if we can make plans to go to someone else's house. 
- He started wearing a watch recently. It makes him look so mature and responsible. :) I said "look". We are having some issues of actually being responsible....things like not turning in papers from school to us, or forgetting to bring his snowboots home, or brushing his teeth after lunch (due to his braces). 
- He rolls with the punches and enjoys doing just about anything. 
- Definitely likes opportunities to be independent and is always wanting to know when he'll be old enough to......stay home alone, ride in the front seat of the car, have a phone, etc. 
- He can be such a great helper (especially when motivated).....Lately, he's been quizzing Heath on his letters and numbers. He folded a basket of laundry in record time the other day. And he even offered to make dinner for the family one night (we all might have had egg sandwiches and cereal). 

With his medal for his Stock Market Club win.

He is such a gift to our family! We love him so much and are grateful for how God has designed Him and put him in our family!