Meditations on a Life of Organized Chaos: Happy 13th Birthday Spencer!

This is a normal picture face for Spencer.

Today I officially have three teenagers in the house. I always thought that would be a very difficult time for me, but I have (so far) been lucky to have very good teens. Today Spencer entered his teen years, and he's been waiting for this day forever. We have these house rules that make reaching the big 1-3 significant for the kids. We don't let the kids watch PG-13 movies until they are 13 (and even afterwards we don't really let them watch every PG-13 movie). I also made Spencer wait until he was 13 to get a facebook account. I know a lot of kids who are Spencer's age have had facebook accounts for years, but I made him follow the facebook policy. I think in the long run it will be better for Spencer to have waited because at this age he is well able to understand internet privacy issues and what should and should not be shared online.

So anyway, Spencer has been very excited for this day to arrive. He decided that he was going to celebrate the big day by staying up all night to watch all of the PG-13 movies he has been dying to see, like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Dark Knight, Spiderman 1&2, and the Harry Potter movies he has missed. We let him stay home from school today. He has excellent grades and is doing well in school. We are probably oddball parents in this regard, but we always feel like it is a good idea to take a mental holiday every once in a while from school as long as it doesn't interfere with their overall progress. So far this has only been a good experience for our kids. They still love school. They just don't get burnout like some kids do, especially as they get older. So Spencer decided to take his birthday off. He only managed to stay awake for half of the first Lord of the Rings movie, so he has some movie watching to catch up on this morning. I'll probably take him out to lunch as well.

So, in honor of Spencer's 13th birthday, here are thirteen things that I love about Spencer:

His enthusiasm. He is his daddy's boy with a passion for living. It can be a bit trying at times to deal with so much enthusiasm in him, but ultimately it will be a good thing for him, I know.
His mad military planning skills. He is quite a little genius when it comes to military strategy in the games he sometimes plays on the computer. I do bore of hearing about every single maneuver he chooses and how the opposing forces have countered his attacks, but someday I'll be glad to have him on my team if the world falls apart.
The super cute dimples he gets when he smiles after finding out that some girl likes him or thinks he's cute. I'm sure that that reaction won't be the norm forever, but while he is young I find it absolutely adorable.
His excitement for playing his trombone. I never thought that Spencer would be that into band. I thought that he would lose interest in music once he entered junior high, but instead he has gotten really excited about playing, especially jazz. I love it! Check out the end of the post for a video of his first jazz concert with his very first improv solo. This is very scary for 7th graders (or really anyone who is first learning jazz improv) because it is all made up. But I think he did great. He'll get more confident and louder the older he gets.
His skills with babies. You wouldn't guess that someone as naturally spastic as Spencer would end up being a good baby guy, but he is.
His love of the Beatles. Okay. I admit. I do suffer from Beatles overload whenever Spencer is in control of the iTunes playlist, but I do appreciate his passion. His off key renditions of obscure Beatles songs will be hard to forget.
His great love for his daddy. Herman is his hero.
His amazing soccer abilities. I cannot wait until he gets the opportunity to play for the high school team in two years. He has the mind of a soccer player. He can look down field and plan a strategy to get to the goal without blinking an eye. Unfortunately, for the most part he has not been able to play with a team of equally talented players yet. He will be able to play with a few good players here and there, but it will be nice to see him play with others who are as good or even better than him.
His excellent cooking/baking skills. He is going to make some lady very happy in the future. It isn't that often that you find a guy who has excellent kitchen skills, but Spencer seems to have them. I think he has inherited the Landis men gene when it comes to cooking. Yea!
His tendency to 'think big.' Once again, this can get a bit annoying sometimes, but it is a skill that every group needs to have to a certain extent. He is not content with the status quo. He needs something extraordinary. That is another trait he shares with his daddy.
His taste in clothes. This is something that no one else probably notices because I don't always give him free rein to choose all his own clothing, but when I do give him a budget and send him on his way to find outfits he always returns with really classy and good looking clothes. He takes his clothes shopping more seriously than some of my girls.
How he is absolutely convinced that he has already reached the beginning of manhood. Every day he comes in to try to convince me that he is growing a 'stache on his upper lip. Every day I tell him that I don't really see anything. But he remains unmoved. I must just be blind, I guess. Only the pure in heart are worthy to see such fine hair, I'm sure. He takes great pride in his growing height and musculature. He is so excited to grow up. I wish he would wait just a few years.
His ability to explain all things with a simple explanation -- "I'm awesome!" He always does this with a tongue in his right cheek and a sparkle in his eye. I can't wait to see what sort of lady he ends up with when he grows up, but I sure hope she is getting well prepared today. She's going to have to have some sort of strength of character to handle all this awesomeness.