Twelve Years Old

We went up to the canyon on Monday so I took Jonah's pictures.  Unfortunately I bombed on the lighting so he has sun spots on his face.  Oh well, I still like the pictures and I don't want to make Jonah do it again so I'll use them anyway!

I have always wanted a son.  Don't get me wrong, I love my girls, but I have always wanted to have a son.  Jonah was the only pregnancy where I knew the gender from day one.  I leaned one way or the other on the other kids, but with Jonah, I was confident from day one that he was a boy.  I remember getting a strong impression that it was time for another baby even though Caitlyn was very young and I just knew it was going to be a boy.

 Jonah has exceeded my expectations on how fun it is to have a son.  He has always been very energetic and that brings with it a lot of physical exhaustion as his mom, but I love his endless energy. 

When Jonah was a toddler I spent my days following him around to make sure he didn't hurt himself.  As the years have gone by I have become better at relaxing and not trying to protect him from everything.  I learned early on, thanks to Keith, that Jonah needed to be able to have some freedom and be allowed to explore and push himself even when I thought it looked dangerous.

I love that Jonah naturally takes on the role of the protector in our family.  He likes to tease his siblings, but he is very defensive of them and hates to see them sad.  He is also my protector and hates to see me sad.  He is always sharing and helping out when he can see that one of us needs a little extra help.

Jonah is hilarious.  He loves to laugh and have fun.  He is very social and loves to interact with other people.  He loves spending time with his friends.  He is constantly playing with friends.  We have given him a lot of freedom because he is very good at checking in and being home on time. Jonah and his friends always find things to do; they go to the school to play sports, go from house to house, play scooter tag around the neighborhood, ride to Wendy's for lunch or dinner and of course play video games. 

Jonah loves to play Fortnite.  He plays a few other games, but that it his favorite video game.  I don't love the game, but he is a well balanced kid so I figure it's okay if he plays video games.  I drive him crazy by telling him not to play too much and make sure he stays safe online.

Jonah not only looks out for his family, but he looks out for people who might need a friend.  Jen Stemmons texted me one morning to tell me that she saw Jonah and his friends trying to cheer up a Kindergarten girl by letting her play basketball with them and cheering her on while she played.  I was happy that she told me so I could praise Jonah for it.  He loves to play with little kids and make them laugh.

Jonah likes to play dumb sometimes.  I can usually tell by the look on his face if he is faking or he really has no idea what I am talking about.  Jonah is extremely intelligent.  He learns new concepts and facts easily and has a fantastic memory.  Although he is very book smart, sometimes his common sense is lacking.  This does seem to be getting better with age.  This face makes me laugh because Jonah makes this face a lot when he doesn't like what I'm saying!

Jonah still loves sports.  He is very athletic and plays most sports really well.  He loves basketball and soccer the most.  He has developed a lot this year in soccer.  His coach has taught him a lot and he has worked hard to develop as a mid fielder.  He loves basketball, that is his favorite sport.  He just had basketball tryouts and did a great job.  He is on the B team with the same coach as last year.  He is excited to start basketball again this week.

Jonah has a desire to do what is right.  Sometimes I worry about him because he will be sneaky or lie, but I'm noticing more and more that he really wants to do the right thing.  He seems more thoughtful and inquisitive about spiritual things lately.  I think he takes his priesthood duties seriously.  He did a great job passing the Sacrament this week for the first time and he was very concerned about getting it just right.

Jonah is a hard worker.  He is a boy after my own heart, work hard so you can play hard! He is always the first one to get his jobs and homework finished.  He doesn't always love to work, but I think he takes pride in a job well done. 

Jonah and I love to play and watch sports together.  I love that he knows all of the players in the NBA and their stats.  He can rattle of sports statistics with the best of them.  He said if he doesn't play in the NBA when he grows up he wants to be a sportscaster.  He would be awesome at that with his fantastic memory and enthusiasm for sports.

We love having Jonah in our family.  It truly is a pleasure to be his mom.  I love watching him learn and grow.  He is at a great age.  I'm really enjoying this stage with him.