Happy 9th Birthday, Sean!!

Sean celebrated his 9th birthday on a Tuesday this year and on a night with no after-school activities!  He woke up to a R2-D2 stuffed animal on the kitchen table and a few birthday decorations in the house before it was time to head to school.  In his classroom, his teacher, Ms. Scott, read his favorite book, lead the class in singing Happy Birthday, and let him pick out a new book from her stash!  I'd say he had a good day!

After school he wanted to open his gifts and go out to Chili's for dinner.  Since I had a coupon for a free kid's meal, it was easy to accommodate his request.  They didn't sing to him this year or give him his free dessert since we had cake waiting for us at home.  So many friends and family members called to wish him a Happy Birthday and his friend, Corey, was having a lemonade stand in their driveway on a Tuesday night so we decided to stop by after cake at home.  Then, of course, it was our annual trip to the spooky house down the road.  It was a fun night!

At 8:31 that evening we gave him an extra hug and kiss and sent him to bed as a 9 year old! 

We celebrated with both sides of the family on separate days.  First, with my family to celebrate not only Sean's birthday, but my mom's and mine too.  My parents came out to see the boys play in their soccer games the Sunday before, but the weather was horrible.  Pouring rain most of the afternoon made for a wet visit!  We went out to dinner at Karl's Cabin in Plymouth and it was tasty! 

We celebrated with Scott's side of the family the weekend after our birthdays.  We met at Plymouth Orchards for cider, donuts, and a hayride.  It was a beautiful morning!  We went back to Mindy's house for a carry-out lunch from Red Olive and to open gifts and visit.  It was a nice afternoon with the Ferstle's and Saling's. 

In case that wasn't enough celebrating, we let Sean invite 3 friends over on Friday evening last week to play and eat pizza and cake.  Sean invited Trey, Corey, and Gustavo from school.  Corey rode the bus home with Sean and the other two boys came over shortly after.  They played Nerf war in the basement (apparently Sean and the boys planned to all bring Nerf guns over), ate pizza, cake and ice cream, and opened gifts.  I think they all had fun!

Now as a 9 year old, Sean is really taking off in many ways!  We just recently got good news at school that based on his progress, he no longer needs math intervention!  He's made huge improvements in math!  And for reading, he's only one level behind the minimum for 3rd grade so we're also hoping to have him close that reading gap this year and no longer need reading intervention!  Both interventionists told me that he seems happier this year and more relaxed at school.  He only sees his therapist once a month since he seems to have a grip on his anxiety!  We are so extremely happy to hear this feedback and see him start the school year off strong.

He's playing fall soccer again with the same team and has 2 goals so far this season!  He's been playing really well.  Sean chose to join Cub Scouts this year as a Bear and has been having fun selling popcorn and learning how to cook over a fire and pitch a tent.  It's been a great addition to his activities, although it's all keeping us very busy.  He still attends catechism on Monday evenings, but his brother is with him this year!

In what little spare time we have, Sean really loves to play Roblox and Minecraft on the iPad and on the X-Box.  He's still into building Legos and playing with Jurassic World figures mixed with Army men to create some elaborate battle scenes.  But, his newest jam this past year was going back to liking Star Wars.  He's still loyal to R2-D2 and the good side.  His favorite movie is Attack of the Clones with The Force Awakens as a close second.  He's even being Annakin Skywalker this year for Halloween.

He's very loving and doesn't like being away from mom and dad these days!  He makes sure to give us extra hugs each morning and at night.  It's such a pleasure seeing him happy, relaxed, and willing to go with the flow in most things.  He's really working hard on being a sweet, caring boy! 

Happy 9th birthday, Sean!!  We love you so much and are so proud of how much you've grown!!