- scout benjamin gerber
today our sweet scout benjamin is 9 years old! words can't begin to express how much joy this kid brings to our family.
i feel so lucky i get to watch him grow....to get a front seat to his childhood.
Scout, here are 9 things i want to remember about you at this age:
- You are crazy about futbol! (soccer to us Americans)
You love to play and have become quite the player over the last year. you want to play every day and though we live 5 minutes from a big grassy field and we visit it often AND your dad built a big soccer net for you to practice shooting in the backyard, you complain that our home has no grass. You'd love a field of your own.
If you can help it, you rarely miss watching your favorite German player and team, Thomas Muller of Bayern Munchen. you are crazy about them! you have both Muller's home and away jerseys and wear them on accordingly on game day. It’s quite adorable. your nickname is ‘Mini Muller’ and your best friend's nickname is ‘Lil Messi’. you presented him with matching leather bracelets with your nicknames stamped on the inside for his recent birthday. when he moves to Spain in a few weeks, you two will have these tokens of friendship to remind you of your special friendship and your love of soccer of course! - You love math
You are a serious math kid! on any given morning after you have eaten breakfast, brushed your teeth and have gotten dressed for the day, I will find you on the computer solving math problems on Kahn Academy. you do this for FUN {i can hardly believe you are my child in this way}. you are currently 96% through the 5th grade math curriculum and are hoping to be done this weekend. you enjoy math SO much you announced you changed your mind about being a writer and will probably be a mathematician instead. {finn was quick to tell you that was a better career choice but not to worry, you can still write books in your free time}. - You love reading and being read to
Long ago, you discovered that reading is magical…whether it’s reading alone or being read to out loud. stories makes you happy, make you think, give you a larger vocabulary, encourage you to dream, entertain and can teach. reading has also helped you build friendships as it gives you topics to discuss. readers love other readers, and you've bonded with many adults and children over your love of books.as your mother, i have been struggling helping you find appropriate reading material these days. you were assessed as a level ‘V’ reader this past year in 3rd grade {this is on an A-Z scale} which means you can read and comprehend almost anything. you are 9 years old, and despite your skill level, not everything is appropriate.though you would love to read every YA (young adult) book, i've been steering your towards tween books instead for now. I will allow some YA and adult books after some research on my end. recently completed the Harry Potter series for your 3rd time and you are currently reading the Warriors series which your buddies Spencer recommended. you are really enjoying it. no matter what age you are, i hope your love of reading lasts your entire life. - You are fierce in your feelings
No matter what you are feeling – happiness, sadness, anger, elation, etc, you feel them all deeply. Sad books or movies will bring you to tears, and a sleepover with elicit a squeal of delight. Your father and I recognized you wore your emotions on your sleeve early on, but it's only been recently that I realized just how much your feelings factor into who you are. As a way for me to better understand your analytical brother more, I found a personality quiz online and had the entire family take it. We learned so much about ourselves and each other. While Finn scored high on logic, you scored high on intuition and highest on feelings - a 99%!!! This explains so much. We love your big heart Scout, and are doing our best to be sensitive to you, help you manage your strong feelings appropriately, and to love you well. - You sleep with your lovies every night.
You call your stuffed animals ‘lovies’, a term you probably picked up from Finn and me as a toddler. You only have 4, but your BlaBla dog ‘Patch’ that you received for your 1st birthday is your favorite and is well loved. SO loved that this once 8" thick and fluffy sock dog is faded and flat, probably 1/2 " thick now. He desperately needs stuffing and some stitching or put away in your keepsake box, but you won't have that. You have stated that you aren't ready for that yet and will let us know when that day comes. Since you don't take him anywhere {even to sleepovers}, I figured it's ok. Your beloved 'Patch' deserves a dedicated post about him. - You love challenges of ANY kind.
From early on, you went looking for them. You climbed an 8 foot ladder at 18 months...quite easily too. After trying to prevent your endless attempts to climb the loft ladder in the guest cottage years back, we decided to just let you go. We simply ‘spotted’ you from below and put a big bean bag on the floor below you in case you fell. you never did. You rode a two-wheeled bike the week you turned 3 and were reading well before you were in Kindergarten. This is who you are Scout…fearless and charging through life. Because you were a daredevil, I used to worry about your physical safety when you were younger. Even up until age 5/6, I worried about you on your bike. These days, I rarely worry about you. You push yourself physically but seem to know your limits. Still you love and ask for challenges. While I encourage you to write stories, read different kinds of books, or challenge yourself with a new piano piece, your father is much better at coming up with physical challenges for you.Junior Lifeguards begins in a few weeks and you are already in 'Training'. All the soccer you play apparently isn't enough for you. Similar to your ‘Jedi’ training from last Summer, this year it’s been revised to ‘Clone’ training {you still like Star Wars}. Christopher put together a fitness regimen for you, and you are thoroughly enjoying completing the challenges. this too deserves a post all of its own. I almost forgot about a recent challenge which you succeeded in. you won a roller-skating race for your age division. you have been racing since you were about 6 years old and have never won, but you never gave up. The day finally came when you finally WON! Auntie Leslie, your cousins, brother and mom were there to witness it and cheer for you at the top of our lungs. what a day!! your grin was off the charts and i think mine was too. {i remembered to record it too}
- You love sweets, especially chocolate!
You have no preference for milk or dark…you love them both.You prefer ice cream over cake/pie and are fully satisfied when you can put sprinkles on top. Oh how you love sprinkles! As much as you love sweets, one would think you would devour your Halloween, Christmas or Easter candy within a week or two. This is not the case. You have such willpower and you ask that we put your candy in a ziplock bag and you savor it for months - for months and months. you just finished the last of your Christmas stocking candy a week {a milk chocolate tin soldier}, and you are still working on your Easter candy. I question if it's even good anymore, but after opening up and trying it, you assured me it was absolutely fine. *grin* - You hate to lose Auntie Jen once said she thinks you hate losing even more than winning. I thought about this, and feel maybe she is right. Three (3) years ago, you would play a soccer game and lose, run through the parent tunnel with a smile on your face and happily grab your after game snack bag. Sports have completely changed for you. When you turned 7, you become highly competitive and winning was most important. You aren't even interested in the after game snacks unless you win. You keep track of every goal and game you played and will never ever forget the year you played on a rec soccer team and didn't win a single game {it was the worse 3 months of your life you said}. You no longer bawl when you lose, but you still get frustrated and shed quiet tears . You are working hard on controlling your emotions and are making great strides. Your dad and I are proud of you and will continue guiding your emotions after losses and reminding you there are valuable lessons in losing.
- You are a kind son, brother and friend. I find so many beautiful qualities in you Scout, but this is the one thing that makes me most proud. You care about people and are so loyal to those you love….defending them wholeheartedly, even your brother {who isn't always so kind to you}. When there is a situation that makes you uncomfortable or you disagree with, you do a great job discussing it with the person to get past it. You love Finn deeply and I've heard you reassure him when he was struggling with something. For so many years, it was Finn reassuring you, and know you offer this too. You are learning that friendships require energy and effort and that the most beautiful friendships are about caring and kindness. Just this morning, your Auntie Jen called to wish you a happy birthday. You recognized her kindness and told me you want to call her on her birthday. Then you asked if I knew what day that was so we could put in our ‘family calendar’. {i won't let you forget oct 3rd}Oh how I love your goodness Scout!
This is you Scout Benjamin Gerber at 9 years old - a kind, smart and athletic boy who loves life and lives it well. you teach me so much more than i teach you {i bet you didn't know this, but you do}. i am grateful and oh so blessed to know you.
~Your stats at age 9:
You are 53" tall and weigh 55 lbs
{your physical is in 2 weeks and I will revise if i'm off}
