Dylan doesn't like it when we say this, but he was a very pretty baby, with doll-baby lips. Maybe we were just biased... everyone thinks their babies are beautiful. See for yourself:
Dylan 6/00
Dylan is brilliant. Really. He loves to read, and reads well above his grade level. And, not just fluffy fiction. He loves good fiction, but it's not uncommon to find him reading a book about how something works, or a reference book on marine life, or whatever else catches his attention. We live just 3 blocks from our town library, and kids are allowed in without a parent at age 10. He recently purchased a bike lock so he can ride to the library and browse without worrying about his bike... if you earned frequent flier miles for trips to the library, he'd have some stored up!
He does very well in school. In fact, this past year, he scored above the 95th percentile in all four areas of the Iowa Test for his grade level, earned straight A's the entire school year, and is excited about moving into advanced placement classes for the upcoming school year. He gets teased and takes some heat from some of his less-achieving classmates, but he recently told me, "Dad, I'm lucky to be smart... I'd rather be smart than popular". It's a shame he feels he has to choose one or the other, but I'm glad he lets it roll off his back and does his best. He just completed his first year of middle school band (percussion/bells) and is looking forward to moving into the snare drum in 6th grade.
As Dylan grows and matures, he seems to be a good judge of character. His closest friends, Tim and Jess (twin brothers), hang out at my house quite often, and they are good boys. He had a few friends in earlier grades that I wasn't too crazy about, but over the past few years, he has naturally gravitated away from them and closer to ones that I favor. He's a solid kid and tends to make solid decisions.
He's a good big brother to each of his siblings, and is very helpful with giving Jen a hand with Benjamin. Though they are at opposite ends of the sibling group, and there is just over eight years between he and Benjamin, these two have always had a special bond, and Dylan is very patient with the little guy.
Dylan's first love is fishing. Jen's Dad first introduced him to fishing. Even if they aren't biting, Dylan is happy on a lake with a rod in his hand and a line in the water. I've been avoiding it because I've never had any interest in it, but Dylan is one of my four favorite hobbies (the other three being Zachary, Lily, and Benjamin), so it looks like fishing needs to be added to my activity list.
At this point in his life, Dylan plans to attend college to become a mechanical engineer/inventor or a marine biologist, never get married, and travel with a small pickup and fishing boat. With his intelligence, the career path would be no problem; I'm quite sure he'll own the boat; and, I've seen his sense of fashion... the never marry goal shouldn't be a problem, either!
Dylan isn't a big cake-eater, so, again this year, we took the family to the buffet at Ponderosa last evening for Dylan's birthday... kids eat free on Tuesday evenings! All-you-can-eat fried chicken, Tabasco sauce, and sundae bar... Dylan was a happy guy!
Dylan 6/11
I didn't make them pose for this one... I just grabbed the camera before it disappeared!
Benny was having a rough evening... he loves crackers, so guess how we kept him happy?
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