Last year in the single digits

Nine. What a wonderful age. Do you remember being nine? Life is good at that fine young age.

Nolan turned nine while we were away on vacation so I'm a little late in dedicating this post to him.

Happy birthday to my sweet Nolan, Nol, Rawhide, or Jennifer as one of his crazy friends at school likes to refer to him. Don't ask me why...maybe it's because he's given her the nickname "Bob". His crazy, fun-loving way is probably the number one thing I love about that boy. He doesn't care what people think, he's perfectly happy being the kid he loves to be. Even if it means wearing a crazy, spring-loaded, jingle bell clad elf hat around town and to school. If it makes him happy, he'll do whatever he likes. I love that.

I also love the fact that he cares deeply about the ones he loves. He takes such good care of his younger cousins. He gets such joy out of helping them out or just teaching them something new. He is kind to everyone he meets and I think that is one of the reason he makes new friends so easily. Every time I call from work to chat with him to see how his day went, he ALWAYS ends the call with "I love you mommy" even if I don't say it first. ALWAYS!! It melts my heart.

It's also a well known fact that Nolan is very laid back. It takes a lot to get this boy riled up. He goes with the flow and takes everything in stride. I could probably take a lesson or two from him on this subject. Easy goin' Nolan is every teacher's dream come true. He easily accepts new tasks without worry, can be paired up with ANY other student with a happy attitude, and doesn't seem to get fazed by big assignments or presentations.

I hope he goes through the rest of his life with the wonderful attitude that he possesses already. He's funny, sweet, smart, tough, sensitive, friendly, goofy, lovable all rolled into one terrific kid.

I hope this year is by far your best yet. Enjoy being nine- it's a wondeful age to dream, play, grow, learn, laugh, and be the crazy kid you love to be!