M's 2 Day Birthday Celebration! (Summer Week 9 Part 2)

 Saturday 8-8 

Happy Birthday M!!!  It is hard to believe that I am a parent to an 11 year old.  How is that possible?!  I don't feel ready.  The good news is, he doesn't really either so he might just tell people he is 10 for a while.  During the days leading up to M's Birthday we did much planning over every moment of his day.  

Having your Birthday on a Saturday is pretty awesome because both parents can bend over backwards to make your day happen!  I usually sleep in a bit on Saturdays, (wake up later the 6am) but not this one! I was up and walking super early.  This was especially tricky since I was up way too late wrapping Birthday presents.  

After my walk M came downstairs and we all sang for him and celebrated him.  Then it was time to open presents.  

Oh boy, he looks 11!

Classic pre-opening picture. 

The half Birthday girl and her buddy. 

T and her therapist made a very special card for M.  She was quite proud to give it to him. 

T: We worked really hard on the card. 

Anyone's Birthday is like a Birthday for the cats.  They love the wrapping paper and boxes.  They also love to "help" when I wrap presents by laying on the wrapping paper!  The picture below was taken just before Buttercup pounced on the bag Sunshine was hiding in.  Sunshine shot in the air.  It was quite a sight.  

Sunshine:  I am totally hidden in this bag.  Buttercup will never guess where I am!

T:  I LOVE my DIY slime kit.  This is just some of the glitter options it came with!

T: I can't believe you got him the Helicarrier!

T: Look at all the people it comes with.  M: Back up, T!

I really wanted to $750 one, but this one is pretty cool too!  

After opening way too many presents (I think we went overboard this year because of fevers and COVID) we headed out to the garage where he also got a new to him bike.  He was very excited about it and T was SUPER excited about her upgrade to M's old bike! 

M: Look at those shocks!!

 

T:  I have been waiting for this day for years!  I have my boots on and I am ready to ride!

After a little biking it was time to come in for some breakfast pancakes.  As soon as the kids were eating I hopped in the shower then mixed up M's cake and got that in the oven.  Once it was in the oven I was able to eat breakfast.  After baking the cake I prepped two pizza crusts for dinner.  The kids enjoyed playing with new toys and lego building all morning.  Sadly, several of the gifts were just pieces of paper as a large box from Amazon with several gifts had not arrived.  

After eating a quick lunch at home we headed over to our good friend's house for an afternoon of play and fun.  We had a GREAT time there, but took almost no pictures.  They decorated the backyard and we sang for M and they had special treats and a gift for him.  The kids played ball and biked and explored and had a great day together.  

M: I love being with these boys and playing with my new walkie-talkies!

This special family used to spend every Wednesday afternoon and several Sundays a month with M.  We are profoundly blessed by their friendship and we all miss their daily presence in our lives. 

A physically distanced picture with the K fam! 

Sadly, T stumbled upon a ground bee nest while the kids were biking.  She was stung multiple times, but by the time she got back to the house she was "fine" and didn't even want ice.  She has a crazy high pain tolerance!  

We had (besides the stings) the BEST afternoon with this family.  We all felt so joy filled and refreshed when we finally made it home.  On the way home T said, "I want to do this exact same thing for my Birthday!"  M said, "This is the best Birthday of my life."  Thanks be to God!!  He has be dreaded his COVID Birthday so much and it ended up being declared his best Birthday ever!  

When we pulled up to the front of the house we saw that our dear friends dropped off Birthday cards and the Amazon box with all the other gifts arrived.  The day just kept getting better!!

After arriving at home we needed to care for the neighbor's cat and garden etc and then get the pizzas prepped and in the oven.  We didn't even eat dinner until well after bedtime.  

Once dinner was over it was time for cake!  M was very excited about his cake, and lighting his own candles. 

M: I wanted to use a real match!

M: Can you tell the candles make an 11?

M: I had to think hard about my wish. 

M: Time to eat!!!

After cake I was so beat, but the day must continue.  We have a family movie night every Saturday so we simply had to watch a movie.  We let M choose and he chose a movie called "Step Dogs"  It was totally up his alley with humor and storyline.  It is sort of a Home Alone mixes with Look Who's Talking type of movie. The dogs actually talked in the movie which took a while for me to get used to.  I might have fallen asleep, but I think everything worked out in the end! After the movie it was time for bed.  M had a great day!!  

I am very excited to see what year 11 will be like for him.  He is fighting a battle between yearning to be young and yearning to be grown up.  We will see how things change this fall.  I am praying that virtual school will be a huge blessing for him. He told me the best part of virtual school will be having the cats with him all day!  He falls asleep with Buttercup curled up at his feet each night.   He continues to love to read and usually has more than five books going at once.  He loves to be in the room where it happens and hear adults talk and share stories!  He enjoying playing basketball and fishing with Brandon.  If he is in the right mood he enjoys bike rides, and once he is hiking he enjoys that too.  He still loves to be with friends, though it doesn't happen as much as he would like.  When he wants to he can handle big tasks and think on his feet.  I am thankful to have a front row seat to year 11 with M!

Sunday 8/9 -

The day started with an early walk for me and a super cute biking partner joined me for much of my walking route.  She was still in her PJ's but really wanted to come along.  She told me all the things she wanted in her future house as we passed other houses.  She will have quite a house some day!  

My workout partner!

This week Brandon was "hosting" online church which meant he was responding to comments on FB and we needed to watch the service on multiple screens.  T loved watching the muted computer and was laying in the strangest positions while she watched. 

T: Laying like this feels good!

After online church and in person church the Birthday celebrations continued.  Our amazing Jamie came over with many gifts for M.  She was very generous!

While M played HORSE with Jamie, T played with her new sand.  I have resisted buying it for years and now I wonder why.  It is such incredible stuff and has provided hours of clean fun for her. 

T: I love my new kinetic sand.  

M and Jamie have the sweetest bond.  He loves her so fiercely.  She got him a medium size basketball.  He never would have transitioned (from small to medium) if we would have asked him to, but with her gift he was willing to size up.  He is doing great with a bigger ball and we are so proud of him. 

Great buddies!

One last Connect 4 tourney!

The home team. 

An intense game!

Saying goodbye to our Jamie was SO HARD.  M chased her car down the street.  We stayed in the front yard and he wept a long time.  

T received a watch for her Birthday.  I think by some act of mercy from God it has now quit working.  She was obsessed with playing games and taking pics and videos.  I am so glad Brandon took a picture of her taking a picture of her Culvers dinner.  Yes, the celebrating continued with Culvers.  

She is a product of her generation haha!  You can see more DIY slime additions all around her.  

After dinner things were getting a little rough.  I was trying to fold clothes and the sky looked odd.  I noticed that the catholic church looked like it was glowing so I ran outside and sure enough, there was a rainbow.  We all headed outside and were in awe of the beautiful sight. 

There are no filters or edits on these pictures, just straight up beauty. 

The view from our front yard. 

The view as we walked over to our neighbors. Can you see the double rainbow? 

Another angle. 

M took this pic on my phone.  Such lovely colors. 

After we had stared a the rainbow a long time we began to wonder if it looked cool over our church too.  The rainbow was beginning to fade by the time we hiked up the hill to check, but it was still there enough.  What a beautiful symbol of peace.  

God is in control!

For us the rainbow brought literal peace to our home.  When we came back inside the chaos and drama were gone and we were on a rainbow high as we prepped for bed.  What a perfect God ordained way to end M's Birthday weekend!