As each of our children turn another year older Zach and I each write a birthday letter to them so here is Zach’s 13 year old birthday letter for his son. (And yes, Kye was born in March and I’m finally posting this in September!) Our little boy is growing up and one day we plan to give these letters to each of our kids and hope they know that these words come from the heart and how loved they are.
Family means the world to us both and we are blessed to get to witness our little people grow and flourish into adulthood. It’s crazy we have a 13 year old in the house now! I love including photos of the birthday child with each of us in these posts as well as such a fun way to look back on the year behind as we look forward to the year ahead.
Kye,
You’re a teen!!!!!! I honestly have been very nervous about being the father of a teenager. How moody will they be? Will I be able to make the right choices about how much freedom to give them? Let alone have to deal with puberty. Will you resent me for making the hard choices and saying no when necessary, even when it upsets you?
And yes, you do get moody. You do think you are right all the time (not sure what gene pool caused that haha). But man, you are an amazing young man. If I would have known how awesome you would be as a teen, I would not have been near as nervous about this parenting milestone.Â
I am so proud of you! You donât like middle school very much, but you donât let that deter you from making great grades, excelling as an archer, and setting a good example to others. You are also a great example to your younger siblings as well.
It is so interesting to watch the different relationships you have with each one. They are all different. My favorite this year has been watching your bond with Spear. He has started to look up to you so much. He follows everything you do and wants to imitate it. This is such a great honor but a big responsibility.
You will have to work hard to be a good example to him. He is so much younger than you. He will always look up to you no matter how old yâall are. I know you will be a great big brother to him for life!
Now let’s talk about your height. CHILL OUT. You have shot up so fast. You make momma look short! I remember what it was like to grow so much so fast. You feel very clumsy and it seems like your clothes are getting too short every day. I am not sure how tall you will be, but you sure did surprise me this past year with the amount of growth you’ve had. It’s like happy birthday now you’re adult-sized!Â
I am LOVING having all the help around the house. It is so amazing having a good helping hand that does things the right way without complaining. You mow the grass fast and efficiently. You always help at the land when needed without any complaints.
It has always been very difficult to do it all by myself and now I have a young man to help. Thank you for that and I look forward to the years ahead with us working together on different projects.
Overall this has been a huge year for you. You have grown physically, mentally, and spiritually more this year than any other year prior. I am so proud to be your dad. I am so proud of all your accomplishments. But most of all, I am proud of the Christian young man you are!! Happy 13th Birthday!
I love you son,
Dad
Here are the past birthday letters from Zach to Kye from over the years:
