To nine year old Logan

 My Logan,

I cannot believe how time is flying. You are nine. Nine isn't really a milestone year and seems to have come on without really realizing it. Regardless, you are growing up so much.

This year has been a really interesting year to watch you. You are coming into your own. You have fallen deeply in love with basketball this year. In years past you have liked it, but now it is on your mind all the time. You have made goals to go practice shooting hoops every day for set amount of times and you have tried to keep those goals. You had a dream to see Steph Curry play and for Christmas Dad took you and Ethan to an NBA game of the Warriors vs. the Jazz. You are constantly organizing your basketball cards and asking about each of the players. All of your recesses at school are devoted to playing basketball. You have been practicing with Ethan's travel basketball team since Dad is the coach and even got to play in one of their games when their team got ahead! In just the past year you have improved SO MUCH! I have loved watching you develop this way. Yesterday we watched you play in your first Rotary Basketball League game and it was so fun. You are confident and aware and Dad says you have a "dead eye" for your shot!

School is easy for you academically. When I met with your 3rd grade teacher this past fall this was how our conversation went:

"So for reading...Logan is...amazing. He has great comprehension and intonation. He is way above reading level. He sometimes gets distracted reading but I hate to get on him for it because, well, he's reading! 

"In writing...Logan is...amazing. He is the best writer in the class and way above grade level. He adds details and writing techniques that are quite advanced. It's really fun to read his writing.

"In math...Logan is...doing awesome. He really understands the principles and has great questions. If Logan doesn't do well on a test, like happened a couple weeks ago, no one did well but when I saw that Logan didn't do well then I knew something was wrong, I knew I didn't explain something well enough."

You asked the deepest questions, give the deepest answers and constantly are thinking. Out of nowhere you will share a fact or ask a question and it is apparent you have been thinking about it for awhile before you share. 

You have been such a TEASE this past year. You are frustrated when others tease you but you sure like to dish it out. You have also had a hard time with Clara. You sometimes feel like you are treated unfairly compared to her. This is so hard. You are sometimes a very black/white thinker and think Clara should be held to your same standard even though she is 2.5 years younger than you. When just you two are together though you have so much fun. A couple of weeks ago I came home and you two were playing a game where you would go downstairs in the dark and scare yourselves and run upstairs and then laugh your heads off! And last night we went skiing as a family. Dad and Ethan ended up going off to Chair 3 while you and Clara ate pizza. When we went back outside Cohen and I went to the magic carpet while you and Clara alternated going down Chair 6 and then coming back over to the magic carpet. You were having a blast together and were squealing in delight. It was SO fun.

Sometimes you and Dad bash heads. You and Dad are SO much alike in your thinking. You both love to tease but have a hard time being teased back :). You both like to think deeply about things and because you think deeply you don't always trust that everyone else has been thinking deeply about the same topic. When you clash you can both get so frustrated because you can't always get the other person to understand your point of view. And you are also a lot like me. You are sweet and sensitive and you don't want anyone to be too hard on you. I am the same way.

You are a great brother. You can be so sweet and fun to Clara, but also the boys. Ethan and you are buddies. You still share the bottom bunk while the top bunk goes unused. You and Ethan get creative together and build or plan fun things. Cohen does not see you as a comforter (see the note about you being a tease above) so he won't go to you if he is hurt, but if he is looking for some fun he LOVES to be with you. You guys laugh and wrestle and have the best time together. It fills my heart so much.

I can't wait to see who you are going to be when you grow up. You will be successful at whatever you do. You have a love and a thirst for knowledge that is incredible. I love the deep discussions we have during scripture study because of you. You know the answers to everything but also want to know MORE than you already know. It is pretty impressive. 

I am SO grateful that you are my boy. I cannot express how much I love you and how special you are to me.