Reid turned nine last month and we’re still celebrating. A few thoughts on what we loved about eight-year-old Reid and watching him develop over the last year:

This year Reid has explored a number of interests and hobbies–reading any graphic novels he can get his hands on, playing soccer and baseball, chatting in Spanish with Brenda and Jaziel, and jamming on the piano (Believer, Thunder and Heal the World were some of the hits this year, thanks to Anthony’s generous arranging).

But most of all, Reid is a man of action, a guy who likes to move, preferably fast. From the time he was little, Reid has nudged us all along with the phrase, “Guys, can we go?” This year that meant loving summer track, biking around town on his own, doing his first 5k (the Color Run and Leonard’s Mills Alewives Run), and growing into a fabulous nordic skate skiier.

Reid has top-notch friends–Leo, Jack, Malath and others–who are creative, zany spirits. Recently he told me that Team DOKH (the last letters of their first names) sat next to a snow bank at recess and pulled their hats down over their eyes as blinders so they could only see the white below them. “We were boring ourselves. We wanted to make recess feel longer. More fresh air.”

Reid’s closest friend, far and away, is his “Lemur.” Sure, Liam is occasionally prone to disappearing into a novel or a coding project for a few days, but Reid’s willing to wait. The two of them walk home through the woods together every day after school. If their return walk is anything like their morning commute with one of us parents, then Reid takes the all-terrain approach, scrambling up snow banks, playing on the ice, jumping on downed trees. I love watching the two siblings approach the house on their walk home. They’re often chatting as they wander, and then when they spot one of us inside at our desks, they wave with delight.

Reid continues to be a great creator: of block worlds for stuffed animals, tasty treats, protest signs, a comic series (Bob and Bob, which he and his buddy, Jack, published and distributed throughout Asa), and recently of coded games.

This year Reid has also blossomed into a real contributor, helping to haul wood, mow the lawn (every week, all summer), volunteer for the first time at the Common Ground Fair, clean bathrooms, and generally chip in.

Finally, Reid has done a lot of adventuring over the last year. In particular, he turned into a great hiker, summiting Katahdin for the first time (not to mention, at break neck speed), climbing up to Avalanche Lake in Glacier, as well as North Traveler Peak in Baxter.

We’ve felt so lucky to share adventures with him. Well, maybe not in the picture below–little did we know at the time that the food I was carrying would have three of the four of  us up with food poisoning that night. Reid somehow escaped!