The Young and the Restless

Eight

We pulled in from Cali at 2 am, just in time to roll out of bed bleary eyed the next morning to hang up the birthday banner and make rainbow pancakes. The rest of the morning was spent building legos, then we went with the family to see Storks, popping open $1 soda while eating a balanced meal of popcorn and Mike&Ikes. I also got a teeny tinge of baby hunger seeing all those cartoon babies with abnormally large eyes. After that we headed to the airport to pick up Grandma. It meant so much that she would come out for the weekend to be here for Maddox's birthday and baptism. We were all pretty excited to have her here. We took Maddox to dinner that night, although just between us, he was bored with all the adult conversation and was itching to go home and play with his legos. But we loved having some one on one time with the birthday boy and I hope he felt special. As a side note, that pumpkin pie milk shake was to die for. 

Then came his big day. He looked so handsome and had a grin spread from ear to ear the whole day. It was a special experience and I was grateful that we could share it with loved ones. So proud of this boy, the choices he is making and the amazing young man he is becoming.

His birthday and baptism buddy, Preston.

The celebrations just kept on coming. Maddox didn't let me forget that I still needed to check him out of school for his birthday lunch and bring in treats for his class since his birthday was during the break. Although, I think I look forward to this just as much if not more than the kids. This boy is something special, he loves with his entire heart. He embraces the small things in life, and appreciates the details. He folds up a napkin and keeps it in his front pocket every Sunday for church to look fancy. He has more self control than anyone I know. He gets a sucker and saves it for months on his dresser before eating it. His drawer is always full of candy, and as a confession I sometimes sneak a starburst or two when I'm cleaning his room. But if the results of that experiment where they put a marshmallow in front of a kid and tell them they can have 2 marshmallows if they wait 5 minutes without eating it is true, then in the long run Maddox is going to be pretty dang successful.  Speaking of the "long run", Maddox can not wait to hit puberty so that he can "get upgraded". Maddox 2.0. He regularly checks the length of his leg hairs, stroking them ever so and willing them to grow faster. He loves to put on his apron and help me cook, his dream is to one day be a chef and own his own restaurant. He said I can always eat there for free, but he might need my help cooking sometimes. He thinks that "mooning" someone means you're waving to them. It's not uncommon to hear him say that he's mooning someone next to us at a stoplight. This boy is a sponge. He loves non-fiction and educational shows. Besides legos, his next favorite gift was a rock collection with a book describing all the different rocks. It kept him up late more than a few nights. Yes, this boy is something special and what a privilege it is to be his mom. Happy birthday, Maddox, we love you!