Birthday, round 4

Saturday morning Kael woke up early to a room filled with balloons, a favorite tradition in our house. The rest of us were all awake too so he was opening his presents before 6:30 AM. :) I think his favorite gift from us was a watch and he looks so grown up when he wears it! For breakfast he wanted a donut from Casey's. We spent the morning prepping for his party and also I took Kylee to her tumbling pictures. Then my mom and dad graciously offered to watch Kase during the party which was a huge help and it looks like he and Grandpa had a pretty good time together!

Don't you wish you could rest your cheeks on your shirt like this??

Kael had his party with friends at our house on Saturday and God totally answered our prayers for nice weather since we had planned lots of outdoor activities. He invited four friends and they spent the afternoon playing some party games, jumping on the trampoline, busting open a piñata, and eating cake and ice cream. We had kind of an All-Star theme going for the party but Kael wanted a cake that looked like an aquarium. Sometimes stuff like that stresses me out. Like that the cake wouldn't match the decor but this year I was a little more chill so since he wanted a fish cake, that's what he got. :)

I was so so so so so so so so so thankful for Kent's help during the party. He had tons of fun boy game ideas and basically corralled the kids for the majority of the time. Let's just say that having five 8 year old boys over for a couple hours completely puts my idea of being "busy" after school with babysitting kids completely to shame!

All in all I think Kael had a great day. It's hard to believe my first baby is eight. I so vividly remember the day he was born but at the same time I hardly can imagine him being anything but 8. He has grown into such a caring young man. So full of adventure. He makes me think and he challenges me to be my best. In years past my hope for him has been to have friends that are kind to him. Now, I watch him at recess and I see him run down to the neighbor's house to shoot baskets and I know that hope has been fulfilled. Kael fits in. Other kids ring our doorbell asking him to play. He confidently asks other, often older, kids at the park if he can join their game of tag and they say yes. And then they can't catch him. :) It is so exciting watching him grow and change and learn. I love 8 year old Kael like crazy. We have been through a lot in 8 years and I hope the next 8 go in slow motion. I want to bottle it up. I want to always remember how passionately he loves a very specific shade of dark orange. I hope I never forget how much he loves to talk about racing friends in his class and how at the beginning if the year he was "seventh fastest but is now second or third fastest". I pray that his drive-by hugs last forever and never turn into no hugging at all. I want to spend the whole entire day watching him play with and adore his baby brother. I want to laugh when he chews with his mouth open at dinner time because it annoys.the.heck. out of Kent. I want to run my fingers through his soft hair and remind him that even when the girls in his class start talking about how soft his hair is, I was the one who loved him first and I will keep running my fingers through his hair until he is 38 or 48 or 58 if I want.

Happy Birthday, Kael!