Tuesday, April 30, 2013

8 is GREAT!

This guy turned 8 last week! So much happens when you are 8 - you get baptized, become a Cub Scout, you get more chores and responsibility at home...ok, so those latter ones he probably won't fully appreciate, but 8 still is pretty great. WOW! Seriously, I can't believe I have an 8 year old!



This was his 8th birthday picture. I used it on his baptism invitations. Despite needing a haircut, I think he looks so handsome! We are so blessed to have him in our family. Some things I am loving about him lately:

1. He is a sweet big brother to Berlin and he really watches out for her. He always has her back. He writes cute little notes to her and leaves them in her room or one her door. I intercepted one and I cried when I read it. It was that sweet. I love when I hear him teaching Berlin to play the piano or how to build her lego friends sets, or helps her with some of the harder words in the books she reads. For the most part he is very patient with her and gives her lots of encouragement.

2. He is a jokester with a silly sense of humor and loves to act crazy. He loves to make up jokes and he is finally getting the punchlines right.

3. I love his laugh and his smile. It brightens my day.

4. He is still sensitive and wears his emotions on his sleeve. He really hates seeing other people sad or hurting.

5. Finley is very perceptive and inquisitive. He picks up on things (sometimes too many things) and loves to ask questions.

6. This past year he discovered that he enjoys boogie boarding, sushi, playing the piano, hiking, basketball and exercising with my me to my workout DVD's (especially my slide-board).

7. He has a wonderful imagination. The stories he writes at school are hilarious and extremely detailed. I think his love of reading helps fuel this talent.

8. He is an amazing lego builder and can do the big, detailed, sets all by himself. After a few days he deconstructs them and starts over with his own design.

9. I love his sense of self. He has this quiet confidence that amazes me. I wish I was as confident in myself as he is. He truly marches to the beat of his own drum, in a good way. I hope that this will be a blessing to him as he gets older, when peer pressure sets in.

10. More than anything I love that he still likes to snuggle with me. He loves to snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie, read a book, or just talk. I love this one-on-one time during the day.

11. Finley has been a great helper with Millie, the little baby that I have watched these past few months. He loves to hold her, play with her, help feed her, and make her laugh. Whenever we see her at church or other places he perks up and says, "Look, mom, Millie!" He ADORES her and it is so cute to see.

His birthday fell on a school day and he really wanted Ryan and I to bring lunch to him at school. His request: Arby's. So, we did just that and as we walked into the lunchroom we spotted him at the table wearing a paper crown, waving wildly at us, sporting the biggest grin ever. It was awesome. Here are some pics from his actual birthday celebration later that night with presents and rootbeer floats. 





We put his candles into a mini key-lime pie since he requested root-beer floats instead of a cake. But you HAVE to have candles and they weren't happening in the root beer float so I had these on hand as backup.

AND ... We still have his friend party to execute in May along with his bday dinner (he has asked for SUSHI!) this week. It's literally the Birthday that never ends!

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