Remi is 12...

I am finally getting to do a birthday post about the boy who made me a mom! On September 21st, this guy turned 12! I still can't believe we are in his last year before he becomes and official teenager, but here we are!

Remi continues to be our strong-willed child. He is very opinionated- seeing things very black and white, is as stubborn as they come, has a temper that rages loud and clear and a fiery passion that can very often lead to him speaking before thinking. 

But....

This boy has compassion that runs deep in his veins. He is my child who prays hard every single night. He prays for his teachers, he prays for struggling classmates, he thanks God for the bed he sleeps in, he asks God to help him with his struggles and at the end of every prayer he says "thank you for your grace and mercy". Remi takes his relationship with God very seriously and his bedtime prayers often bring a tear to my eye.  

Remi strives to surround himself with people who give their best, do their best and make good decisions. He has little time for trouble, drama or breaking the rules. He would rather do the right thing and do it alone, than hop on the bandwagon- because of this, he has little patience for those who don't do the same.

Remi is loyal, straightforward, always aware of the things around him. He loves helping, he loves being in charge and has an incredible ability to be happy for others. He isn't about having a big circle, but very careful to have the 'right' circle. 

Remi is our thinker and is most definitely our more serious child who seeks perfection. He is constantly dreaming up inventions, ways to change the world, and when he isn't in school learning, he is most always on the internet doing more research and more learning. He still dreams of being a NASA engineer one day and continues to be most interested in mathematics, science, problem-solving, building and creating. 

He told me yesterday, he wants to be the first man to hit a golf ball off the moon- this boy dreams big and I love it! Most recently, he has been researching ways that mankind can adapt to one day live on Mars and loves to share all his ideas on this! Very often, he drops little nuggets of scientific knowledge into conversation, like "Mom, do you know what would happen if we had X% less oxygen on Earth?", he then proceeds to give me a detailed explanation. 

Remi loves to make shopping lists for the projects he dreams up. Just the other day he asked for potassium nitrate- I don't even know what that is!! Turns out, he was wanting to create a rocket! Last month it was syringes, denatured alcohol and a scientific calculator. This kid's brain oozes with all things STEM. 

Remi loves sushi, golf, fishing, kayaking and basketball, but more than anything, he loves learning and problem-solving! 

While your peers live their life on the football field, playing video games, dreaming of touchdowns, knowing the words to every new rap song, you seem to see life in a different way, outside of the right here, right now. You have a little seed in you of wanting to change the world in a big way, of wanting to squeeze in every ounce of knowledge you can,  truly encompassing what it means to see things 'big picture'.  

Remi, you have no idea how challenging, rewarding and inspiring it is to raise you. You are layers and layers of complex ideas, big dreams, and out of the box thinking, all wrapped up in the courage to be you.

Keep chasing those dreams, keep paving the way and keep that flame lit!