Happy Birthday, J-Mav!

Dear J-Mav -

Nine! Really?! How is that possible?!? I mean, I KNOW how it's possible, but it just doesn't seem possible. I feel like it was just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital and hanging out with the neighbors a couple days later at the 4th of July block party. You were so long and gangly... a half inch longer than your brother was a birth; your brother, who at 14 is already taller than I am. What does that mean for your height five years from now? I fear I will soon be a midget in my own home. Sigh.

This has been another year of big things and change for you. As mentioned above, you grew a lot! I suspect when you have your well-check, you will have gained about ten pounds and grown about 4 or 5 inches. We'll see. Which reminds me, I need to schedule your well check!

You finished 3rd grade with flying colors. Academically, you had almost all Os on your report card all year. And you got Pass/Advanced on both your Social Studies (521 out of 600) and Science (600 out of 600) SOLs. The "Work Habits" section of the report card was another story. But there was improvement toward the end of year. Areas that still need work for next year are:

• Exhibits Self Control
• Complies with Established Rules
• Listens to and Follows Directions
• Uses Time Constructively

However, I will say that all but "Exhibits Self Control" improved to Satisfactory for the second half of the year. That coincides with when you officially diagnosed with and started taking medication for ADHD, so we were happy to see that the medication has helped settle your brain and make better choices. We waited and observed for awhile... we being Dad and me, as well as your doctor. Your doctor felt that you were borderline for diagnosis and that maturity might be a factor. While that's likely still the case (you are one of the youngest in your class... the Class of 2021), we and the doctor thought it was time to do an official evaluation after you were struggling with those work habits at the beginning of school. The medication HAS made a difference in your self control.

You continue to have a large group of friends and you seem to be popular at school. Sometimes I don't always know that this is a good thing as I think sometimes your popularity stems from your love of making people laugh and getting a reaction. But you are a super smart and funny little guy, so I can see why people are drawn to you. Friendships with certain people ebb and flow, but you consistently remain tight with your buddy JE. At this point, you are more like brothers than just friends. :)

Athletically, you have had a break-out year with hockey.  You tried out for and made the Mite Silver team last season and had a great year. You also played on a Mite House team, coached by Dad. You had fun with both... especially traveling to a tournament in Hershey with the Mite Silver. During the season, you committed to improving your skating and we signed you up for a weekly skating lesson. You rarely complained about getting up at 4:45am once a week and going for a skating lesson before school. And ya know what? Your hard work and dedication paid off. You made the Spring Development "A" team, and you were named to the Squirt Blue 2003 team for next season... the only player to be named who didn't play on the Mite Blue team last year. That's a huge accomplishment, and one that you can be proud of.

You also played "up" to AA baseball this spring. You had a good season with the Rattlers, and had a nice group of teammates. Your team had little success during the regular season, but pulled it together for the playoff game and made it into the championship game. You lost the championship game, but how great to end up with a runner-up trophy! I don't know if you will continue with baseball after this season; you seemed a little wishy-washy about it. I think, compared to hockey, it's kind of boring for you. At one point you told me that you "hated baseball because you just stand around waiting for something to happen." So we'll see. It's totally up to you.

You are a little mouthy with a little more attitude than I'd like at times, but you are also my sweet cuddler. You are always ready with a hug, and it's not hard to coax a smile out of you when you are being poopy. You love being home and doing things with your family. More often than not, you'd rather eat pasta at home than go out to dinner. And you love playing games. Any games will do. And puzzles. And, wow, are you a smart little cookie. So observant, too.

So happy birthday, J-Mav... enjoy your last year in single digits! I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Love,
Mom