i didn't forget... i just didn't mention it

i've been dealt a hefty dose of mom guilt over the last month.  don't get me wrong, i'm the one dishing it out... to myself.  but still.  ugh.

case in point,  - i did not mention my oldest's birthday!  no, no, no,... we celebrated it.  but i never got around to documenting it.  here goes...

patrick joseph turned 9 on september 6th.  it's still hard for me to consider that.  have i really been a mom for nine years?  has he really gotten that tall and mature and smart?

patrick is in 3rd grade this year and has come face to face with personal responsibility.  there are days that this is not so pretty.  but i'm proud of his attitude - "i can do this mom.  this is so different from last year, but i can do this."  i can remember him making similar statements when he was learning to finish his dinner, learning to read, learning to tie his shoes...

as a nine year old, patrick is a man of few interests - but those interests are intense and run deep.  he is always reading, always building, always drawing, and always writing - something.  currently, he's in the process of developing characters and plot for another story - maybe this time he'll push past a story and turn it into a book.  

one thing that patrick has never been is athletic.  he was always too busy with books.  but, in the past year, he noticed that all of his friends were always playing something, and he finally announced to us, "i don't really care about soccer, but if i'm gonna play with my friends, i'm gonna need to learn how to play soccer."  so, he asked us to put him in soccer camp and on a soccer team.  i was a little apprehensive - i mean, he was ready to go up against kids who have been playing since they were 4 - but he was sure that he wanted to do this.  he is currently halfway through his first soccer season and loving it.  i'm so proud of him for pushing himself to do something that was not comfortable or easy - simply for the purpose of challenging himself.  he's really growing up.

but most days, he's still just this little face.