Nathan is Thirteen!

Somehow, the tiny baby infant Nathan whose "coming home" pics were some of the first things I ever posted in this, my "new" online space, is... suddenly a teenager.

Suddenly, and not suddenly at all.

(Also, if you would have told me that day when we brought him home that he'd be turning thirteen in a global pandemic and wouldn't have seen any friends in four months and would be doing school via remote learning for the foreseeable future, my head would have spun around sideways, even moreso than at the thought of suddenly being a parent in the first place.)

These days, Nathan is made up of sports and balls and weights and feeling competitive and never ever ever being tired of playing outside. He loves singing, and his cello, and drawing pictures, and dystopian and fantasy books, and fanfic podcasts. He is bright and works hard and is assertive... and isn't afraid to argue or correct someone, whether or not he's the one who is correct, whether or not his correctness matters. He is snuggly, and he is confident, and he misses people, and he also loves being alone. 

And he loves his sisters and his family, and we adore him too. It's fun to watch him grow into who he's becoming, and even though it's shocking that we have a teenager, it's also.... not. It's who he is and where he is, and it feels about right, even though it also feels unthinkable.

Some memories of his 13th year, including greetings from loved ones he can't see right now: 

(If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch it on YouTube.)

Past videos and memories:

Nathan's 12th year

11th year

10th year
9th year
8th year
7th year
6th year
5th year
4th year
3rd year
2nd year
1st year