There's a 9 Year Old in the House

This kid looks forward to his birthday months before it arrives.  So when this special day comes, it's as exciting as Christmas.  This year, being in 3rd grade, his birthday happens to fall during state testing.  Usually we like to go to breakfast or pull him out of school early and we couldn't do that this year so I had to make it as special as possible to make up for that little bump in the road.

He woke up to a chocolate cupcake, strawberries and yogurt with granola for breakfast.  There was also his first clue waiting for him to begin his birthday treasure hunt.  

The second clue required him to go out in the rain to find the third clue.  Oh and Mr. Worm came out to wish him happy birthday too.

Clues four and five were in our cozy house again and led him to some birthday surprises.

I think that was a good start to his day.  After the kids came home from school and daddy got home from work we sat down for a nice family meal.  Xavier's favorites: homemade mac and cheese, grilled chicken and broccoli (mom's healthy addition).  Dinner was followed by a Plants vs. Zombies birthday cake.

Oh and Justin stopped by to surprise Xavier.  They have been great buds at school and in the neighborhood and we loved having him as part of our dinner celebration.

 

Birthday celebrations part II:

We always let our kids pick a place they'd like to go for their birthday.  Xavier chose the DaVinci Science Center.  We brought one of his best buds, Jacob to come along.

They had a blast sifting through dirt to find dino bones, 

Exploring the deep sea in a submarine, 

and learning all about poop in the Grossology exhibit.  (Isn't that a fitting topic for boys to explore? I'd say so.  This is the only time the word poop is aloud other than the bathroom without me shushing them.)

Here they are choosing which character is the grossest.

Reid- our littlest budding scientist.

Ginormous pin art.  The kids spent at least 10 minutes playing with this.......it's the simple things.

Robotic dinosaur.

Following our science fun we came back to the house to open presents, hang out a little more and eat some pizza.

These two love Nexo Knights, Legos, and video games.....two peas in a pod.

I will say that each year when I think to myself, "How is it that Xavier is already another year older?" I think how lucky we are to have this X-man as a part of our family.  He is such a great kid.  He's soo good.  He wants to choose the right.  He is a natural leader.  He is a great example to his brothers.  He is kind, thoughtful, and energetic.  He is interesting to listen to and has so many wonderful things to share and talk about.  He loves trying new things.  His innocence and pure heart teaches me so much each day.  His love of reading and sharing what he's reading makes my heart happy.  His enthusiasm for life and love of people is a joy.  We love him to pieces and I absolutely love watching him grow up and learning so much from being his mom.