Happy 100 months, my little Tobin!  We raised a glass in your honor when we went out to dinner on your true 100-month birthday, but in this crazy time of year, that’s all the celebration we managed.  In fact, with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I’m just now on Christmas day getting this written, but I’ll save the holiday sum-up for another post.  Things are going to be getting wilder before they get calmer; by this time next month, we’ll probably be living in our loaner house while ours is under construction.  Fortunately it’s not far away, so it won’t be a big deal to get you to school and check on progress (and pick up items we forgot to pack).  You are excited about the whole deal, mostly because it’s fun and exotic to live at your friend’s house when he’s not there.  Best of all, they have a laundry chute.  You’ve thrown a few balls down that already.  Callum is nervous about the changes, Miles seems pretty neutral, your dad is stressed about the project details, and I’m stressed about your dad being stressed about the project details, but you’re ready to rock-and-roll.  You are pretty much always ready to rock-and-roll.  As Callum wondered aloud about you, “Why does he never get tired?”

I’ve been talking to you a lot lately about your tendency toward pot-stirring.  You are very intuitive and can easily read people and situations.  That’s a great power, but you need to be very careful about using it for good and not evil.  You always know exactly what will annoy your brothers (mostly Miles, but Callum too), and you have a very hard time resisting pushing their buttons.  Sometimes it’s all in fun, or at least it starts that way, because you enjoy the attention and interaction with them.  Too often, though, it descends into genuine fury on someone’s part.

You and Callum have also been doing a lot of physical rough-and-tumble play lately.  I guess it’s good that you’re forging your own relationship with him.  Callum and Miles have long enjoyed doing quiet things together, but you’re more of a high-energy person, and you and Callum get a kick out of pretend-fighting and doing Pokémon attacks on each other.  That’s okay to some extent, but much like your pot-stirring, often it goes too far and someone ends up crying.

I think you’re a thrill-junkie on many levels, and you need a lot of physical and mental and emotional stimulation to keep yourself satisfied.  That can be very tiring for the rest of us, but it seems to serve you well.  You always have plenty of friends, and wherever you go, you jump right into the action.  I noticed that a lot of my pictures of you are of you eating, I think because that’s the only time you sit still enough for me to capture a photo.  I promise, readership, that you do more than eat ice cream.

You’ll start your basketball season next month, which will be a good energy outlet.  You’ve also kept up taekwondo and are doing well at it.  You don’t seem to have much interest in testing for the next belt, but you get good workouts and of course have friends in the group.  You’re very competitive, so I could see you wanting to participate in tournaments or maybe the Iowa Games in the future.  I’ll let you take the lead on that one, though.

Nana very generously granted our Christmas wish of a swim-with-dolphins experience, which we’ll do when we’re in the Florida Keys this spring.  The Dolphin Research Center is very near where we’ll be staying, and they seem like a really solid non-profit organization dedicated to conservation and scientific advancement.  I really hope you enjoy it, and I think you will, due to your animal-loving nature.  You’re a good swimmer, too.  I did it once by myself, and it was so cool sharing a space with the dolphins.  I can’t wait to see how much you love it.  You are currently saying you want to be a marine biologist, which I support in terms of coolness, but I’m afraid it would take you awfully far away.  You tell me you’ll buy me a condo next door to yours near whichever ocean you end up studying.

Your current favorites: being dramatic about everything, playing with Pokémon cards, watching Scooby Doo videos, pepperoni pizza, the Series of Unfortunate Events series that you read at bedtime with your dad, and generating excitement in any situation.  Much like your brother did around this age, you are currently resisting haircuts.  I do think you look better with your curls tamed a bit, but it might also be an interesting experience to see just how tall and wild your mop can become.

I admire your enthusiasm and zest for life, Tobin.  Your joy is contagious, and it’s hard not to be happy with I hear your easy, genuine, and frequent laugh.  Just remember to use your powers responsibly and keep in mind that not everyone sees life as one big comedy opportunity.

I love you, you little nut job.  Here’s to 100 more months and beyond.

Love,

Mom