Happy 9th Birthday Big Boy!

Well, I've now been a mom for 9 years.  That seems like a lot.  But, I'm sure that feeling will only increase with each passing birthday!!  Since Christmas my boys have gotten into Pokémon, thanks to their friends down the street.  It is one of those things that I swore my kids would never get into.  I realize now that sometimes you can't help what your kids like, they are influenced by their peers too, not just mom and dad!  But, after watching them play, collect cards, and 'battle' with their Pokémon, I've come to realize that it's not that bad and there are worse things they could be into!  I'd rather have them play Pokémon than play video games for instance.  Also, when they 'battle' they are keeping score of their 'health points' and that involves adding and subtracting, so they're doing math, hurrah!

 

 

When Big Boy asked for a Pokémon party I wasn't surprised a bit.  I was however worried because unlike Cheeks' Mario party, I don't have personal experience with Pokémon.  This lead to a lot of research on Pinterest and Wikepedia.  Each kid got to be a trainer and had their own Pokémon to train.  There were certain training activities to do and they earned badges when they were completed. 

I had Pokémon food that the kids all thought was so cool:

Here they're decorating their bags that they collected their loot in throughout:

Pin the tail on Pikachu of course!

This was my favorite part of the party.  We sent them all outside to 'battle.'  They were out there for a good 1/2 hour without any need of assistance from me.  Shafer and I took a break on the couch for a while.  It was great!

Such Boys:

 

This was Big Boy on his actual birthday.  He never disappoints with his enthusiasm for birthdays and holidays.  I can always count on him to be excited!!

 We're so grateful to have Big Boy in our lives.  He's a great example to his younger brothers.  He's quick to get his homework done every day, he enjoys reading, he's also quick to get chores done and be obedient to mom and dad.  He's also such a sponge when it comes to gospel learning.  We'll ask him what he learned in his Sunday school class and he can give great details of the scripture stories he learned about that day.  He's enjoying his 3rd season of soccer this year and he's been taking piano since the beginning of the school year.  It's so fun to hear him playing a song!  Up until now I've been the only one who could play. 
He's so social too.  I remember actually worrying about him making friends a few years ago because he had this little stutter that would come out sometimes and that combined with his special dietary needs with his Celiac, I was worried that he might be bullied or have a hard time making friends.  But, my worries were unfounded, he has a great group of friends and I'm always hearing new names of people he plays with at school.  He's constantly running off to a friend's house in the neighborhood, he loves being around people! 
I love this boy, and I'm so excited to see where he goes in life, he's got such great potential!  Happy Birthday Big Boy!