To Be Ten

It's interesting.  Age ten seems to be a monumental year.  Sure it's monumental in the fact that Lewie is now, officially, two decades old, but it also seems to be a year of pretty significant transition.  His personality is getting stronger, his sense of what he likes and dislikes is increasing, and he's becoming more vocal (even testing the waters a little as to what I will allow and not allow).

Finally, he's hungry...like all the time.  This kid's appetite is enormous, and while he hasn't seemed to have that famous "growth spurt" yet, he's showing all the signs.  He eats all the time, sleeps a little longer, and complains of his legs/hips hurting him at night and in the morning.

Even though I just wrote a post about this kid in December, it appears that so much has changed again in just three short months.  Here's what this ten year old is up to...

1)  Growing Pains
As I just mentioned, Little Lewie is complaining of growing pains (mostly in the morning when he wakes up.)  I told him that sometimes "growing pains" are linked to a growth spurt, which made him spend the rest of that morning/day measuring himself.  He stood next to a mirror in our downstairs bathroom and said, "You're right.  I do feel taller.  I see more of myself in this mirror."  Too funny!

2)  Running Club
During the last week of February, Lewie joined his school's 5K Running Club.  The goal of the club, if it isn't apparent, is to teach the children how to run and prepare for a 5K race that happens every spring (usually the first weekend of May) in our town.  When the signup sheet came home, I ignored it for a day.  Shame of me, but I automatically assumed my very nonathletic kid wouldn't be interested in running.  Thankfully, before I tossed the sheet out, I asked him.  "Yes, I do want to sign up, Mommy.  They only allow 30 kids, so I hope it's not too late."  I was surprised (and disappointed with myself).  I filled out the sheet, and luckily Lewie made the cut-off.  He's been excited about all his Running Club meets (Tuesdays and Thursdays) ever since, and he's been learning a lot of valuable tips.   He has a really fun teacher, which adds to the enjoyment.  She created a handmade postcard for each child in Running Club with a message of encouragement.

3)  The Svetlana Chmakova's Award-Winning Berrybrook Middle School Series
Even though Lewie is in 4th grade, most of the books he's been reading focus on topics in middle school.  He came home with Chmakova's first book, Awkward, and insisted he was in love with reading.  When I first saw that it's written as a comic book, I frowned.  To me, this wasn't going to be a stellar replacement for his cherished Magic Tree House collection.  Still, as we read it, I soon discovered that her characters are brilliantly entertaining, funny, and charming.  Not only do her books bring up important (and delicate) middle school topics, but the illustrations and dialog provide an engaging way to encourage reading, promote understanding, and teach emotional intelligence.  Lewie has read all three of Chmakova's Berrybrook Middle School books this year--Awkward, Brave, and Crush.

Courtesy of Svetlana Chmakova's website.

4.  Crab Rave
Little Lewie and his friend have a favorite music video called "Crab Rave" by Noisestorm.  I have to admit that the music is catchy.  However, the video is downright hilarious.  It's exactly what you would picture a crab rave to be...well that is, if you picture a whole bunch of crabs dancing on the beach while busting some pretty cool moves.  Oh yes, and in true rave fashion, the dancing in the video goes on from sun up to sun down.  I'm listening to it right now, and there is a part of me that wants to get up and dance.  It must be the ten year-old in me.

5.  Constant Jokes

My husband's humor is rubbing off on Lewie.  The two of them can tell fart jokes all day long, and recently, they spend anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes a day making jokes about Uranus. 

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

"There's a laser shooting out of Uranus."

"Oh no!  Uranus is exploding."

"Did you know 63 Earths can fit inside Uranus."

Oh, I can keep going, but now I would be tormenting you, much like how I feel when the Uranus comedy hour begins.

Oh, to be ten.  For me, ten was about the 80's.  It was about wearing Jordache Jeans, pleather skirts, feather earrings, and a comb in the back pocket of my dungarees.  It was about dancing around to "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, doing the moonwalk with my white glove, and playing "The Eye of the Tiger" on my Kermit the Frog record player.  It was about watching reruns of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch while pretending I was Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie.  It was also about watching weekday cartoons like Scooby Doo and Saturday morning cartoons like The Smurfs.  When I think about it, my childhood seems like it was way more complicated than my son's.  Sure we didn't have the internet, but instead TV and MTV reigned supreme, right along with Atari and Cabbage Patch Dolls, and Barbies...

To see my son's life as a ten year-old today brings me joy.  His life is about running club, swimming, jokes, middle school comics, "supervised" YouTube videos, Cub Scouts, and Xbox.  I'll take it.  It's actually pretty fun.  Just maybe, I wish I was his age again.  I know the adolescent years are right around the corner, so for now, I'll just bask in the uncomplicated world of TEN.

Lewie Meets Dan TDM

If you have a son somewhere between the ages of 5 to 12 that loves Minecraft and loves watching YouTube videos, then chances are you may have heard of Dan TDM.   Dan TDM has been a household name in our dwelling for the past two years.  It started when Lewie was introduced to Minecraft by his older cousin Sarah; then, Minecraft became the topic of discussion, superseding his once main fascination with trains.

The transition was swift.  Lewie was already a huge YouTube fan because it gave him an opportunity to watch trains.  He would spend hours watching Lionel O-Gauge train layouts, lego train layouts, and descriptions of model trains (as explained by his favorite YouTube train expert, Eric Siegel).  Then, he started searching for Minecraft videos, and he was introduced to a whole host of YouTube gamers--his favorite being Dan TDM.

I'm not a Dan TDM expert, but what I do know is he's a twenty-five year old British YouTube personality (YouTuber) from the U.K.  He often rocks blue hair with disc earings, which makes him "ultra-cool" in the eyes of young boys. As a mom, I like him too because he uses clean language, and he's genuinely funny.  Dan TDM's book, Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal, describes him this way:

"Dan the Diamond Minecart, AKA Dan TDM, is one of the most popular YouTubers in the world with over 12 million subscribers who tune into his Minecraft and gaming videos.  He has over 8 billion views on these videos in total, which makes him one of the most-watched channels on the whole of YouTube!  Learn more about Dan at www.thediamondminecart.com."

Just recently, I learned that Dan TDM was coming to the Oakdale Theater in Connecticut as part of his U.S. tour.  Ticket prices were outrageous, but since Lewie had been following him for two years, and he never asks for much, I thought this would be the perfect surprise.  The week before the event, I let him know we had two tickets and told him he'd be going with Daddy.  Of course, he wanted all three of us to go, but he understood we had to save money.  As it turned out, his best friend Ryan and his mom went too, so although, they didn't sit together, they both were able to meet up for a picture. The boys were EXCITED.

Lewie's best friend, Ryan.

Two of Dan TDM's biggest fans!

And here are a few more pics before the event, too.  Although, I wasn't there to witness it in person, this little boy seemed to LOVE his first "concert-type" experience.

Before Lewie left for the show, he gave me a link to a "boot-leg" version of the performance.  "This is so you can see it too, Mommy," he said as he left.  Honestly, this little boy melts my heart.  I'm so happy he was able to have this experience.