Happy 8th Birthday Josh!

Dear Josh,

Happy 8th Birthday!  Now stop growing ;) You are such a sweet, funny kid.  You are always saying hilarious things, and things that are wise beyond your years.  You are a person who values your alone time.  You like to have time after school or at the end of the day just to unwind and play with your favorite toy, the keys.  No one is quite sure why you love them so much, but not a day passes that you don’t play with them.  You also love to play your iPod.  Your favorite games right now are Civilization and Minecraft. 

School has been good for you this year. Mrs. Brown is your teacher and she is fantastic.  You are at the top of your class in reading and math.  But you hate when all the other kids cause disruptions.  It stresses you to no end.  At recess you favorite activity is still swinging, but you’ve also started the “angry pidgin club”  where you chase girls around the playground flapping your shirtsleeves at them.  I’ve seen this in action and it makes me laugh.

Sometimes it’s hard to motivate you to do things, but if you set small, reasonable goals nothing can stop you.  Recently you had a goal to get 25 miles at the school running club.  If you reached this goal I said I would bring you Chic-fli-a to school.  You worked so hard every time you were at club to get as many miles as you could.  We also just had kid dates, and you had a chance to earn “date dollars” for good behavior and happy attitudes.  You were quick to jump on every job and turn your frown around whenever date dollars were mentioned.  Then you and Dad spent your dollars swimming at the Erie Rec Center and buying treats from the vending machine.  You also were determined to conquer your fear of the big green slide and you did it!  Dad said you went down the slide 10 times. 

You also love to listen to audiobooks.  Your favorite series right now is “Land of Stories” by Chris Colfer.  I bet you have listened to each book 5 or more times. 

Josh you are such a sweet boy and never hesitate to tell me thank you for a special outing or snuggle up on my lap when I’m feeling low.  I think you and I are a lot alike in the way we think about things and so it’s always so fun to hang out with you and talk to you.  I love to see you play stuffies with Halle and Josh and marvel at the creative things you three come up with.  Our family is such the better place with you in it.  Keep on setting goals, working hard, and just being your fantastic self!

Love you so much,

Mom