Zerin turns 9!

Last week, my little Z-dog turned 9.  9!  He set the bar so high for the rest of our kids, and as bad as I feel for oldest children everywhere, he has been so patient (most of the time ;)) with his mom and dad as we have muddled through figuring out how to be parents.

Bryan has always said Zerin was born to be his buddy.  They love all the same things...sports, baseball history, reading, history, the gospel, biking, hiking, camping...they're quite the pair.

Zerin has turned into an incredible big brother.  He and Liah pretend to not tolerate each other, but they are also fiercely loyal and protective of one another.  He and Aeden are constantly on some new adventure...usually involving Ben 10.  I have loved watching their friendship blossom this past year.  Asher idolizes Zerin.  He copies everything he does and does his best to keep up with everything he does.  The sweet part is Zerin is so tender towards Asher and is usually one of the first ones to his rescue when Asher finds himself in some hairy situation.  I LOVE watching Zerin and Bella together.  He can get always get her to giggle and smile, and loves to play and talk to her.  He's just so sweet.

He has a flare for the dramatic.  This year he is showcasing that talent both in the school play and in our school district's storytelling festival.

He loves being in scouts, and loves learning new things both there, and at school and at church.  One of our biggest challenges with him has been helping him to take charge of his own learning, and not just wait for other people to make things interesting for him.  He's a fantastic reader...so far this year he's already read 8 books.  He's such a sponge, I love it :)  He is a self-proclaimed expert at just about everything.  One of the skills and attributes we are trying to hone a bit in him is humility ;)

When things get stressful or tense, he's the first one to try and lighten things up.  That has been such a blessing to our family.  I couldn't have asked for a better person to have as my son...he is such a blessing and bright spot in my life! :)