Ever since he was about two years old, Superboy has had a strong interest in the following subject matter:

gadgets & gizmos,

robots,

gears,

Rube Goldberg machines,

inventions,

factories,

control planels....

That sort of thing.

* * *

When they're little, some little boys develop obsessions with dinosaurs.

Or with big trucks and construction equipment.

Or with basketballs, baseballs, soccer balls, etc.

Superboy displayed only mild interest when it came to those things.

However, he would literally LIGHT UP with excitement when it came to gadgets/gizmos/robots etc. 

His interest in robotic & mechanical topics has remained consistent over the years.

* * *

In 2011, Superboy began talking about his desire to purchase an iPad.

Owning his very own iPad, from his perspective, was one step closer to building a robot or becoming an inventor. He was really serious about wanting to buy one.

(Keep in mind he's only 9.5 years old. I had major hesitation when the topic first came up.)

He had years of saved allowance just sitting in the bank. He tends to be more of a saver than a spender.

After lots of contemplation, we decided to let him have the green light on purchasing an iPad.

(With a few obvious guidelines and boundaries on how/when it's used.)

He didn't have quite enough to purchase it yet, but it turned out that his allowance PLUS our Christmas gifts to him (2011) were enough to cover the price tag of the iPad.

He was so excited to open that particular present on Christmas morning. I don't think he'll ever forget it.

* * *

During the school week, he only uses it for two purposes: morning alarm clock and to check the weather via his trusty weather app. I now get an enthusiastic weather report from him each day at breakfast, which is a new element of our morning routine. :-) Very fun.

He uses it on the weekends to play games (...within reason. He knows not to play it all weekend long. Great discussions about moderation.)

So far, so good. When he got a DS a couple of years ago, he had the same school week vs. weekend arrangement, so it's been nice just to continue with those same boundaries.

He's always loved to read, which is something that I am bound and determined not to jeopordize.

So far, so good on that front. The iPad doesn't seem to have made a dent in his reading habits.

* * *

The other day I picked up his iPad to check on something. I ended up clicking around and landed on his camera roll. To my surprise, he had TONS and TONS of pictures saved. I haven't seen him snapping very many pictures over the month that he's owned his iPad, so I was really curious.  

As it turns out, you can snap screen shots of your games as you're playing them.

So he has taken LOTS (and I do mean LOTS) of screen shots of one of his favorite games.

As I scrolled through photo after photo of these images, a smile came to my face. 

9 year old boys are so awesome.

I love their little brains.

Particularly his little 9 yr old brain. 

I told Hunter about finding all of these screenshots, and his response was,

"Yeah, he's been sending me emails at work with screenshot after screenshot."

So cute.

I also found this photo (below), taken on Christmas day. 

My kids like pictures that "go on and on for infinity."

When I was a kid, I liked that sort of photo as well.

There's an image within an image...within an image...within an image....and so on and so forth.

Another fun thing about the iPad is the ability to make fun little videos like this one. I think this took about 15 seconds to create.