Happy 10th Birthday Alex!

 

 

Well...there's no lookin' back now! Alex has officially entered the double digits. I can't believe I have a ten year old. We just officially celebrated his birthday about a week late due to Josh's busy on-call schedule. The plan was to go low key as my days of big parties were at a temporary hiatus. But Kemosabe (that is the name I frequently call Alex) decided to take it upon himself to make his own party. I found out less than twelve hours before his party, that he had invited some of his friends to join us for the party the next day. I got a phone call from a boy in his class and he was asking for our address so he could come. Naturally, I was a bit surprised. I told Alex that this was the ten year old equivalent of throwing a party when your parents are out of town. He got to clean my whole house (including scrubbing the toilet) the next morning as punishment for his crime. Needless to say, I allowed the boys to come because I would have felt horrible turning them away after they went to all the trouble to call. But should he do such a thing in the future, he is going to deal with a much stricter punishment. It was a new one for me. Ha! Oh, and did I mention he wanted the poop emoji for his cake? Yeah...that was also a new one for me. I felt a bit odd decorating a cake with poop. Rolling brown frosting turds out was an experience I won't soon forget.

As for the kid, he's sure coming into his own. Each year I see him grow, I see a bigger and more unique personality. He's got so much zest for school right now. He loves it and raves about it daily. He's into video games, sharks, outdoor life, fishing, football, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and art. He can talk until the cows come home and the teacher agrees. He's got mega-creativity in school and is a straight A student. He reads so much that it was the only "complaint" his teacher had. He wants to read every moment possible in school. She even said it wasn't a bad thing, but just the one thing she has to deal with...if that is the word to use.

This year he had his friends Wesley, Chase, and Koy to celebrate with. Jake and Stephanie came with their herd and of course Grandma. He got lots of toy guns (which he is obsessed with), a cool swimming shark, an electronic pet spider (that Abby found - after much searching on Amazon - and bought for him with her own money), a Halo toy, and a refurbished Xbox 360 (which was super cheap). He was so shocked when he got it that I don't think it fully registered until he opened the box.

I'm so excited to see him grow up and become the fun little dude that he is. He walked up to me the night before his party and asked to go get his hair cut so he could look good for his birthday celebration. The next day, he woke up, dressed really nice, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth and gelled his hair then proceeded to ask me, "Do I look grown up now?" I laughed and gave him a hug. Yep, buddy...you sure do. Happy Birthday to my awesome little man!!!

Because he wanted to do a funny picture and he thought this was fitting. *sigh*