In mid-April, our sweet and sour baby, Gabe, turned 9. Are you also wondering how this happened so quickly? Gabe is very aware of so many traditions now, and he absolutely made sure that we took our final selfie with him as an eight-year-old. Say goodbye forever to eight-year-old Gabe.
Gabe notices details, and he has an incredible memory. He mentioned something about Rachel's birthday possibly being made a bigger deal of than his (which we didn't agree with), but it became pretty apparent to me that I needed to do just a little extra for him on his birthday, and I also knew that if I did, he would notice and he would love it. So, I ordered a shark balloon arch for him. Thank heavens for my balloon inflator machine!
The next morning, we were able to do a few presents before school, even before Michael left. Everyone got up earlier so we could do this.
We got him a kit to make his own radio.
And some clothes, because that is always a hit with him, and he needed them (he is growing so fast!)
When we were shopping for clothes for him, I saw a shark swimming suit and shark flip flops, and I HAD to get them for him. He absolutely loved them. (I had thought he wouldn't need a new swimming suit because I thought last year's suits would still fit, but we recently found out that they actually don't.)
But the big present, oh what is it? Gabe recruited Michael to help cut through all the tape.
Apparently in all the rush to get out the door, I didn't take a picture of what was inside this box. It is a mini-recliner to help Gabe with his sleep struggles (trying to have him unwind before bed NOT in his bed by reading in this chair.) They worked to put it together, but couldn't get the back to snap in, so Michael headed off to school, and Brian got ready for work. Gabe fiddled with it some more and it snapped into place and worked great.
We also got Gabe a three month subscription to Crunch Labs, which you can tell he's really, really excited about.
He hinted at wanting to have lunch with me, and I asked him if he wanted me to bring Costa Vida to school. He said, "Yes!" and then took a look at me in my bedhead and pajamas and added, "But can you maybe wear nice clothes? Like maybe a sweater?" So, here I am in my sweater, at the school with the Costa Vida.
For dinner, Gabe wanted to go to Pizza Pie Cafe. Michael showed us that he hit his 40 hours needed for driving. Woo hoo!
Gabe wanted a caramel cake for his birthday, and it brings a very un-birthday pallet to the table. We did the best we could, and I thought some blue sharks wouldn't look too bad on the tan cake.
He liked them.
He loved the balloon arch, especially the giant sharks.
He also loved doing the puzzle thing that Grandma Chadwick got him.
Odd birthdays are for dates with Mom and Dad, and Gabe picked the Provo Beach Resort. We were hoping to do the FloRider, but we got there too late to get a spot. We still had a great time. We played miniature croquet.
And played several arcade games.
We did a round of bowling, where I think I actually won for the first time in my life, thanks to Brian's bum wrist.
Gabe checked out the big playground.
And we did a couple of rounds of Laser Tag. On our last round, it was the three of us against six kids, and I had the very top score, followed by Brian, and then Gabe. We totally trashed them, and it was really fun. I've never been a top scorer in Laser Tag. I actually scored really well in the game against teens as well. I figured out how to get maximum points in this course, and I feel so cool.
Gabe and Brian rode the carousel.
Fun fact: when we went in for his annual well child, I was amazed by how much he has grown in the last year. I followed his curve on down to where they are projecting his height to be, and as we suspected, he's on track to be the tallest of us...maybe even his Uncle Ethan's height!
We love you so much, Gabe!!
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