Luke is NINE!!

The sweetest, most huggy boy on the planet turned 9 last week. Coincidentally, his birthday fell on the same day as the first game of the Upward season. I'm honestly not sure which one he was more excited about!! Throughout the week leading up to the big day, I would hear he and Landry doing the countdown ....4 more days .....3 more days, etc. Invariably, they would follow that with ...until Upward starts, not "until my birthday!!"

Luke is such a great kid. He's very kind and sensitive. He works really hard to keep up with his 2 big brothers and also stays busy bossing his little brother around too!! He's thoughtful and considerate, always quick with hugs and "I love you's".

He had been wanting an ipod touch for forever and had waited patiently for it. This Summer, his good buddy, Kaleb, had his old ipod for sale and Luke really wanted to buy it. I was a little hesitant for him to buy it, as Kaleb had bought it in used condition, and I was worried that it might not last too long. Luke reeeealllly wanted it and could not WAIT to get his money and exchange it for the ipod.

Before the decision was made, I gave Luke a piece of paper with a line drawn down the middle. On one side, it had a + sign. On the other side, it had a - sign. I told Luke to sit down and list all the good reasons to buy Kaleb's ipod under the + and to write all the bad things about buying it under the -. After a few minutes, he had one thing in the + column and several things in the - column. I asked him what he wanted to do and he calmly said, I'll wait to get a new one. When I asked him if he was sure, he said ... Yes ... there are more bad reasons than good ones, so I'll just wait.

And that was it .... he waited patiently and finally got his ipod for his birthday!!

I thought at the time that it was so simple for him once he saw the pros and cons in black and white!! Wouldn't it be so nice if all decisions were that simple?!

Here he is with the beloved ipod touch!!

Mom and the birthday boy!!

Legos!!!

The cake that pretty much took care of my sprinkle collection!!

A few days before Luke's birthday, I was in Central Market and noticed these cinnamon rolls!! This is the same brand of bread that we really like so I was so excited!! We have not had cinnamon rolls since Luke was diagnosed with Celiac almost 4 years ago!! I made regular cinnamon rolls for the rest of us (from the can, of course, and ohmygosh .....they were sooooo good!!! It's been a long time!!!) and I made Luke one of these. He was kind of excited about it except he's always so nervous on the first day of Upward!! So, he might have eaten half of it before reminding me that he just can't eat much before the first game!! Silly me .... what was I thinking!!??

Happy Birthday Luke!! You totally rock!!!