Fantastic Number 9

"Nine nine nine
Fantastic number nine
It’s perfectly consistent
It works out every time
Nine nine nine
That crazy number nine
Times any number you can find
It all comes back to nine." --Square One Television  (And yes this math trick works, I use it all the time in long division.  Thank you Public Television.)

My boy is nine! Nine!  Every time I say it, I start singing the above song.  Today was Linus' chillest birthday ever.  He didn't have a lot of requests.  In fact, even just a week before he didn't really know what he wanted other than breakfast in bed, Kraft mac n cheese for dinner, and dirt for dessert.

Despite his lack of enthusiasm, Linus woke up in the best of moods.  He had a great day at school.   Back home there was free screen time.  Free screen time? Best.Day.Ever.  

While waiting for the noodles to cook we opened presents.  Linus was shocked/elated that I picked out the just right deck builder set for Magic the Gathering.  Somehow Robin went shopping by himself and bought Linus a LEGO set...  My favorite gift I got him was a Feisty Pet.  The moment I knew these I existed, I felt Linus needed one.  I'm happy to say he feels the same way.  Do you see the pure joy?

We ate Kraft mac cheese, I graded some papers, Eileen did her homework.  My mom came over and brought Linus a card and gift--a gift card for books for his Kindle.  We dined on Linus' favorite seasonal treat--dirt.  Linus did the "RIP" on the gravestones himself.  I'm pleased to announce that vanilla almond milk is a pretty good substitute for regular milk in pudding.

We finished the night ordered books on Amazon.  There was the perfect amount to buy all 3 Dogman books as well as pre-order the newest Dogman book and Diary of a Wimpy Kid book.  Linus rushed off to bed to read.

At nine years old, Linus is full of drive, feelings, and stubbornness.  He loves school, except when he hates it.  He loves his family, except when he hates it.  He loves pretty much any activity, except when he hates it.  

No matter what Linus loves babies and small children (he is so good with them), drawing, swimming (but not so much swim team), boy scouts, Magic the Gathering, and soccer.  He has a good crew of friends.  He likes being able to just hang out, relax, and get cozy.  Linus understands why blustery, rainy days are awesome and is a great partner for movie watching.   He has an incredible sense of adventure.

Linus is star student this week.  One of the days is read a letter from your parents about why you are a star.  Normally, I'm the one who gets to do this sort of thing, but I decided it was finally Dave's turn.   He whined at first, but then wrote the best Star Student letter in the history of 3rd Grade.  

Happy Birthday to our sometimes smelly Star.