Zane is TEN!

Today Zaney, mah babee, turns ten. He's been in this world for a full decade, and i am better with him in the world. Our family is better with him in the world. The world is better with him in it. He is silly and loving and energetic and incredibly sociable.

Zane loves to talk. He will talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. His favorite books are the "100 most _____ things on the planet" series - "100 Most Dangerous Things," "100 Most Feared Creatures," "100 Most Awesome Things"... - and he will tell me (or you!) all about a pyroclastic flow from a volcano or about some deadly ant or about some other completely random and usually interesting fact. Or he'll tell me all about something on Minecraft, and i usually have to pretend to be interested for a little while until finally i have to tell him that honestly? I don't care about Minecraft. At. All. He'll tell jokes. Or he'll want to plan out some event that's coming up. Or he'll just talk about...nothing at all.

He likes to know things. He wants to know everything. This includes facts about animals, the world, and science, but also what we're going to do today. And tomorrow. And next week, if possible. He wants to know that he'll like something before he tries it, and if possible, he'd like to have tried it before. He's not a big fan of surprises. (When i plan birthday parties or fun things for the other kids, i keep a lot of it a secret. With Zane, i let him plan every single detail with me, because that's what will make him happiest.)

He's a bit of a micro-manager, when he can get away with it.

Zane absolutely loves to be doing things with other people. He loves to play games, or do Legos with someone, or ride bikes with someone, or play a computer game with someone.... He's happiest when he's in a group of friends. He's the first kid to leap to join me when i'm running to the store or doing some other random errand. However. When there's nothing else to do (or when i give him the choice of finding something to do or helping me with chores), he can amuse himself for hours by listening to a book on CD (usually Harry Potter or Percy Jackson), reading books, or playing with Legos.

Zane's at an age where he desperately wants to be funny. He tries really hard to say things that he thinks are hilarious, and he sometimes succeeds,but often just kind of misses the mark. He cracks himself up, though.

He has a very clear idea of who he is and what he likes. And he's pretty stubborn. As i was looking through pictures today to make a collage of him at every age, i realized that he's worn the exact same shirt for 3 of his past 4 birthdays (although this year it was for his party rather than his actual birthday). He has the attitude of "If i like it, why change?" He does change, it's just very, very slowly sometimes. (For example: After years and years of refusing to put his face in the water, he finally - FINALLY! - learned how to swim this year, and he discovered that he loves it.)

I love that Zane just is who he is. He really wants to be liked, but he's not willing to change who he is to get someone to like him. He sincerely wants to be kind, and he really does want to be friends with everyone. He's always surprised when kids - or people in general - are unkind. He has an incredible heart and an incredible mind, and while i really want time to slow down, i look forward to seeing who he becomes in the next ten years.