Happy 13th Birthday, Caspian!

Dear Caspian,

You’re a teenager!! Happy Birthday, Buddy! I can’t believe we have three teenagers living in this house now. Here are some things I’d like to remember about you when you turned 13 years old and some things that you might like to know about your 13 year old self.

1. You love soccer. It’s definitely your sport and has been since you were 4 years old. You play on an Elite travel team as well as for your junior high.
2. You are super social. Probably our most social child. You have lots and lots of friends and are very well liked by your peers.
3. Your favorite foods include cheeseburgers, almost any kind of grilled meat, mac and cheese, pizza, cheese tortellini with homemade alfredo sauce (made by me) as well as tacos.
4. You have suddenly gotten really into cologne. It’s very cute to hear about you and your guy friends shopping for cologne and what are the most popular scents.
5. You love playing videos games on your computer online with your friends. I can always hear you in your room talking with them. Occasionally we have to tell you to quiet down, but for the most part it’s all good.
6. You don’t love school. You like the social aspect, but not the classwork. You are incredibly smart and gifted. You are two grade levels above in math and are in accelerated language arts, but you just don’t love it. You probably like math ok, but you definitely do not like writing.
7. You love to go shopping. I think it’s super fun! Daddy doesn’t like to shop, so I love that you like to go. You are very patient waiting for your sisters and giving them your opinion and don’t ever seem to get bored.
8. You love fashion. You care a lot about what kinds of shoes you wear as well as your clothing. Your Nike’s are displayed in your room and you just picked out a bunch of clothes that I ordered for you as an early birthday present.
9. You still don’t like putting away your laundry. For some reason that is a task that drives you mad. Sometimes you’ll have three laundry baskets in your room with clean clothes.
10. You have a soccer tournament on your birthday. After your game on that day, you are going with some of your teammates and their dads to see Inter Miami CF play Chicago Fire downtown. Your favorite player, Messi, won’t be there, but you’ll have a great time!
11. You like collecting soccer jerseys from some of your favorite players.
12. Freddy’s restaurant is your favorite. My guess is that you will choose to have that to eat on your birthday. You really like their super-thin fries. You always tell us that you don’t like french fries and that are too potato-y. You also only like cheese and pickles on your burgers.
13. Last year you tried out for the junior high basketball team and surprised yourself when you made it! You had never played basketball EVER, but you had such a great time and I was really proud of you for trying something new. Usually you don’t like to do things unless you know you are really good, but you took a risk and it paid off!
14. You also made it to state for Cross Country last year, but you aren’t doing that this year since now you are in 7th grade and are eligible to play jr. high soccer.
15. You still wish that you had a brother. You have a lot of guy friends who have all brothers and you absolutely love going to their houses! You’ll appreciate your sisters…..someday.
16. You like to ride your bike around town with your friend Asher. You guys go out to lunch, shopping, etc. and act like tiny adults. You have so much fun having all that freedom.
17. You seem to have taken more interest in nutrition this year. Your new soccer coaches are really into making sure you are fueling your body as an athlete and we’ve been kind of surprised how you really seem to be taking what they are saying to heart. You are making some better food choices than you would have in the past. I guess you’re growing up!
18. Your favorite animal is still penguins and you still have quite a few stuffed animals that you like in your room. So you’re not THAT grown up (thank goodness)!
19. You don’t want a girlfriend this year even though some of your friends have one. You said that you don’t have time for that kind of thing and don’t want to have to deal with all those emotions. I think that’s a very smart decision. You said you’ll get married someday and then you’ll look for a girl.
20. You still love to snuggle with me on the couch and you still twirl my hair from time to time. I hope that never ends.

Caspian Finn, I absolutely love you with all my heart! You are my very favorite son and I’m always so grateful that you have shown me what it’s like to be a ‘boy mom’. I would have missed out on so much if it weren’t for you. You are my sweet, sweet buddy and always so loving to me. I hope you have the best birthday and enjoy these next amazing teenage years (and don’t forget to give me an occasional snuggle!)!

I love you from here to the moon and back again!

Love,

Mama