Teenager in the house!

So. Last Saturday was Noah's birthday. His THIRTEENTH birthday. Oy. ;) To commemorate the occasion (which we celebrated in a very low key fashion involving only the opening of family gifts and plenty of food, lol, per Noah's request), I made this layout with a picture from each of the past 13 years:

I even wrote a little haiku to go with the layout, lol. And just look at that progression in the bottom row...attitude much? ;) 

(Also, I think he's probably had that same haircut since he was about four, lol.)

Now, for 13 things about my Noah:

1. You can't see it as much in the pictures above but the boy has been on a mega growth spurt. In the last two years, he's grown almost TEN inches and gained more than 30 pounds! Honest. Send more cows. ;) As proof, here's a picture from one year ago and one from yesterday:

I wish I had a height comparison picture from when he was 11, as he actually grew more (in height) from 11 to 12 than from 12 to 13. 

2. He still has a ways to go to catch Nathan, though:

Course, he's got a good jump on his brothers, lol:

(They used to be fairly even stairsteps. ;) For what it's worth, though, Asher, at eleven, is only 2" shorter than Noah was at 11.)

3. With all that growing, I'm honestly pretty amazed that Noah hasn't been more gangly or suffered more growing pains. In fact, though, he's always held himself with substantial control. Watch him walk sometime...you'll see what I mean, lol. 

4. He's a very organized soul and thrives on tradition (lack of change). He's the type who always wants exactly the same thing, just in the next size up, if you know what I mean. This means shopping with/for him is either incredibly easy (if the same thing still exists) or excrutiatingly long (if something changed). Lol.

5. Yes, Noah's done away with the Steve Jobs look...to the extent that the tops are all grey now, instead of black. Other than the dark rinse blue jeans, though, the boy continues to lack color. ;)

6. He's always been a somewhat obsessive sort...whether it be learning about and visiting trains or designing energy efficient car companies or fine tuning his archery gear or everything Apple or whatever. Through this, I know that he's so very capable of teaching himself and researching and making plans. I just wish he would apply that to his "normal" schoolwork a bit more, lol...

7. Right now, his favorite things to watch are Mythbusters and Lord of the Rings. That's about it, as we don't watch much tv. ;) He's looking forward to a number of movies coming out in the theaters in the coming months.

8. Though I don't really get his current interest in Pokemon, lol, I'm choosing to be glad that his birthday list still mostly centered on fun things like Pokemon and Wii games. I know that all too soon the list will be things like stuff for cars...

9. He's really coming into his own in archery and swim team...challenging himself and building his own strengths. Fortunately, swim team requires very little gear. Archery, on the other hand...lol...let's just say that the boy is set to outgrow his current set up a good bit sooner than originally anticipated.

10. He's pretty darn talented with the guitar and piano. He hasn't taken a piano lesson in about five years but still plays on his own and tackles new songs. He can also listen to a piece of music and teach himself how to play it by ear on the guitar. I have no idea how that works but it's beautiful to listen to. ;)

11. Academically, if anyone couldn't tell, he's strongest in the maths and sciences. Duh. ;)

12. For the record, his voice changed about a year ago. It still kinda freaks me out, lol.

13. For all that he tries to avoid the camera these days, he has a smile in there:

That's what little brothers are for! ;) 

Happy sigh. Happy birthday, my Noah!

Comments

[Nan]

Nice post, Amanda! You really captured Noah, special boy that he is!

[Becky]

LOVE your layout and list! Time really does fly by :)

[Vanessa Miller]

I really feel like I know all your boys, especially Micah and Noah. I wish sometimes that they were closer and I could interact and play with them, or have academic talks with Noah, though I suspect his mind is more cultivated than mine in some areas. Plus, I think I would get along best with Micah cause Noah would think me a bit cray cray, which I do not deny. This was a wonderful post, Amanda. Entertaining and personal.