Miles turns 9!

Party time

Last week, we celebrated our Miles!  The fun began with a friend party at Sky Zone Trampoline Park, followed by burgers and milkshakes at Five Guys.

(l. to r. Ezra, Jack, Miles, Jackson, Hampton, and Caelum)

Their mealtime conversation was delightful and would encourage any cynic worried about our country’s future.  While discussing where they would go if they could time travel, the conversation ranged from preventing the assassination of Lincoln/the Great Depression/ the September 11 attacks to concerns about the exchange rate should our currency be taken to another time.  Upon considering the conundrum of returning from the past to the present, one suggested visiting Albert Einstein so that he could build the machine to get them home. Not bad for 8-10 year old boys!  They also shared their many encounters with poisonous spiders, most recent silly dreams, and many (many) jokes.  A healthy balance!

On Miles’ actual birthday, we threw a family party that included Miles’ birthday buddy, Mark!

Receiving a pocket knife that belonged to his great grandfather, William Krueger
(which is also Miles’ middle name).  In the first 12 hours, Miles cut himself twice! 
Now he’s whittling happily without mishap, and I am breathing a tiny bit easier.

 

The big gift from us - a new bike and helmet

Favorites

Bear Grylls – The kids discovered Bear Grylls on Netflix, especially the show You vs. Wild and a spin off book series for kids.  (Mr. Grylls is no fool.)

Calvin and Hobbes – Miles has read all of the books at least twice, belly laughs throughout, and recites his favorites from memory.

Harry Potter – Miles and I read the first three books in the series, and this led to a Gryffindor robe, wand, and even Harry Potter glasses for Christmas.  He’s also enjoyed some tangential reading material, such as a book of spells and magical beasts.

Musical Instruments – Miles continues to love instruments!  He took drum lessons this year and is working on guitar chords.  Piano continues, of course, as a foundational instrument.  The only aspect of music that Miles dislikes is… practice.  He would much rather compose his own music when the mood strikes!  Hopefully, he’ll thank us one day for balancing disciplined practice with lots of time for experimentation.    

Computers/ electronics – A newer interest is how computers work, both the hardware and software.  He asks Paul lots of questions about his job and wants detailed answers about what broke and why.  Paul gave Miles a box of old computer equipment, phones, cords, etc. that he can take apart and experiment with to his heart’s content.

  

Being unique – Glasses, braces, and dressing up all make Miles feel special.  The positive attention from the outside world doesn’t hurt, either!

Gaining independence – Miles has struggled this year with the perceived injustice of Ryan’s extra privileges.  However, he’s been steadily gaining independence, too!  He worked hard to build his confidence with Cooper and be allowed to take him on (short) walks alone.  At his request, I taught him how to pump gas, and he has it pretty much mastered.  My days of pumping gas may be over for awhile!  For the last few Saturday mornings, he got Caleb out of his crib, took off his diaper, filled his sippy cup, and served him a breakfast of Cheerios without being asked while Paul and I “slept in” (which means 7 a.m. around here).  From collecting the mail to rinsing dishes or doing a deep clean of his room, Miles is regularly pitching in voluntarily with a great attitude.  

  

Second grade

Miles had another terrific year of school.  Handwriting, his former nemesis, was more enjoyable with the addition of cursive.  Every subject was mastered and completed quickly.  The only exception was coloring pages in history.  While Ryan and Abby cheered them, Miles groaned!  In the coming year, he’ll be adding Latin and requested to add grammar and writing through our co op.  It’ll be much more challenging than what I would normally require in third grade, but he was insistent.

Memorable musings

Miles speech is unpredictable and vocabulary unusual for his age.  It is pure delight.  A few examples of most eight year old boys vs. Miles: surprised vs. astonished, over there vs. over yonder, job vs. task, upset vs. overwhelmed, lost vs. misplaced, sad vs. depressed, and head vs. noggin.  In testing this year, his vocabulary equaled that of a senior in high school, and story recall was that of an adult!

A few other statements I recorded over the past year:

* “He was trying to pocket smuggle.”

* Heading to Fuddrucker’s for dinner, Miles grabbed his wallet, put it in his pocket, and said, “A wallet always makes a handsome man look just perfect.”

* About Calvin and Hobbes: “I so love these books!

* “You gave me such a fright!”

* “I have known it for quite some time.”

* “I was astonished that I did not fall down!”

* “I hate it when milk gets down your sleeve.”

* “I am having trouble being contented.”

What a gift!