Johnny's eighth birthday was one for the books!
We had only been in Medford for a couple weeks and it was fun to have a reason to celebrate. I had balloons in his bed when he woke up and decorations leading from his room to the table. My favorite included our zoo animals saying different puns, or cheesy one-liners like "I'd be LION if I said I wasn't excited for the party!" or from the tiger "I can't wait to eat some birthday
A couple days before, Johnny wrote a detailed menu for his birthday, so I knew it was important I deliver! For breakfast he had homemade waffles, strawberries and whipped cream with bacon (or sausage or both) with orange julius as the drink. For lunch he wanted either Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls and "like veggies, because you will probably make us have that anyway" or McDonalds (we opted for McDonalds, because who has meatloaf mid-day?) Then for dinner he wanted root beer and "Little Caesars Pizza- not Costco though, because it is gross." So we had a busy day of eating ahead of us! Ha!
In the morning John and the kids had a rubber-band gun war that lasted probably two solid hours. At this point, it was still a novelty to have John home during the day, and I was so grateful for how much fun the kids had with him.
Next, we headed to every park we could find in Medford! (We made it to only two- we were having so much fun!)
It was a beautiful day for January! We had such a good time.
Next Johnny and I went to pick up the pizza and Jurassic World 2, since our kids are all about dinosaurs these days.
After dinner, we blew out candles on Johnny's butterfinger-brownie-ice-cream cake. I can't be positive, but I'm pretty sure he wished for a dog! Haha. (He thought FOR SURE he was getting one for his birthday...no. haha.)
Next, he opened presents. He got a shark lego set, black panther lego battle ship thing, a new wall ball, bubble gum, a "spitter" dinosaur, and pokemon cards!
He was one happy boy!
Here he is opening magic card tricks from my mom. :) He also received a nerf gun from her. (The Brassells brought their gift, when they came for Johnny's baptism!)
After presents, we watched Jurassic World and cuddled and I just marvelled at how big my little Johnny boy is becoming.
Johnny-
Happiest of Birthdays. You bring such a sweetness to our family. I love your sense of humor and I love how your sit on the stool and slowly tell me highlights from your day. A couple of my favorite stories about you involve you making others feel good. At school the other day, everyone was making fun of someone for having a jacket that was too small, so you pointed to your oversize jersey and said, "Well, at least he's not wearing a dress like me!" and it made everyone laugh and leave that boy alone. Another time, a teammate was feeling discouraged by how he was doing at practice. He had a breakdown and none of the coaches or parents could calm him down. Then, you went and sat next to him and talked about how you messed up all the time too, and you made your friend laugh. Soon he was back to normal practicing with everyone. So many times I see you reach out and help out and you don't make a big deal about it. You just do what's right, because it is the right thing to do. You are just a very kind, nice boy, and I learn so much from watching you. You are an incredible big brother and a great example to your little brothers. I am grateful they have you to look out for them and show them the good they can do in the world.
I love you Johnny! I love that you are the first one up every morning and super happy about it, and I love that you can't fall asleep without a hug goodnight.
It was so fun celebrating my favorite oldest son.
Happy Birthday Johnny 5!
love, Mom
