Happy 8th Birthday, Sean!!

October 1st came out of nowhere it seemed and it flew by!  Since it fell on a Monday this year, he had to go to school.  We packed goody bags for his classmates with Halloween pencils, erasers, Vampire teeth, and spider rings to help make his day extra special.  His teacher gave him the goofy hat and had all the kids sing to him.  Kid's Time in the morning gave him a few goodies too!  I think he had a great day, despite having to be at school for it!

That morning he got to open one gift over breakfast.  His big theme this year was Jurassic World.

After school, when we were all home from work and school, he got to open the rest of his gifts.  I tried to milk what's probably the last birthday where he just wanted toys.  No electronics.  Just Matchbox cars, Jurassic World toys, pajamas, and Legos.

I made him a picture collage for his room with pictures of his friends at school, neighbors, and cousins.  He loved it!  And I love that he has all these great memories with friends already!

He picked Red Robin for his birthday.  They sang to him and brought out an ice cream sundae that looked delicious!  He definitely loved his choice for dinner.  We came home and sang, "Happy Birthday" and let him have cake...even though he had ice cream.

He had a great day!

We celebrated with Scott's side of the family the night before at his Aunt Jackie's house.  She did a Mexican-themed dinner since it was for both me and Sean.  The kids played, the adults watched football and ate, and we had a Jurassic World cake and ice cream for dessert.  It was a nice evening!

And of course, little brothers don't handle not having the spotlight very well...

We celebrated birthdays again the following weekend with my parents at our house.  They came over and hung out for the afternoon after watching the boys' soccer games.  We had lasagna for dinner with salad and breadsticks.  And my favorite part was the cake from Holiday Market!  Yum!!

As an 8 year old, Sean has been growing quite a bit over the past year both physically and academically.  He's transitioning into a size 8 pants and shirt.  As always, he struggles to hold them up.  Mr. Skinny!  He's wearing a size 1 or 1.5 shoe and I'm happy to report that he can tie his own shoes!  It might take him a while and it might not be perfect, but he's achieved that milestone.  He's over 55 lbs. and just shy of 50" tall.

He's thriving in 2nd grade this year, after a challenging year in 1st grade!  He's had two spelling quizzes with 100% so far and he seems much more motivated to complete his homework and practice his spelling words.  Fingers crossed this motivation lasts.  He still qualifies to work with the reading interventionist, as he's reading a level G/H and really should be at least in an I.  We spent all summer working with a tutor so we're trying to close that gap.  I'm hoping it just "clicks" this year as many people have said it would.

Sean is currently in religious education on Monday nights with his First Communion coming up in January!  He also swims Tuesday nights at Goldfish Swim School in Pro 2 and plays soccer through Plymouth still.  He's yet to score a goal this year, but he's working very hard and he's so much more aggressive!  He loves to roller blade, ride his bike, build Lego's and draw.  He's obsessed with learning about the Titanic, "Ancient Egypt", and fossils.  He still wants to be an archaeologist, but sometimes says he wants to be a doctor. 

He can be so sweet and caring one minute, but sassy and pushing the boundaries the next minute.  He's really trying to see what he can get away with lately, but I figure it's par for the course.  He's creative and funny.  He's passionate and challenging all in one.  But, I love him for exactly who he is.

Happy 8th Birthday, Sean!!  We love you so much!