This was a non-party year for Josiah. But I still wanted to make it super special for him. It's a little difficult, because we don't live near family, so it's not like there is an automatic 15 people here to celebrate with him if it's "just family". It's just the 6 of us. And his birthday falls smack in the middle of an extremely busy time of year. But I understand how that goes (my bday is Dec. 31 - talk about busy!) so I wanted to make sure that he still felt special on HIS special day.
We started out with birthday donuts of course.
Caleb loved the football donuts!
I went and had lunch with Josiah at school but don't have any pictures because some cute little 4 year old was playing with my phone on the way to school and left it in the van. Sigh. But we were there! I brought him his favorite sub - Club on a Sub - from Firehouse Subs because they give you a free sub on your birthday. He was stoked. And ate the whole thing (it's an 8" sub people!). Then we handed out donuts to his classmates (it's what he wanted this year...not cupcakes, but donuts!)
He was super excited when David came home early in the afternoon so he could open his presents! VERY excited when some money fell out of his card from Aunt Daree!
He got a wallet from Aunt Kelli and Uncle Scott...
...and proceeded to run upstairs, get all of his money, come back down, and start putting it away in his wallet.
He was so cute - he was asking me where to put everything and where the "right" spot was for his money, etc. He opened up the wallet, I showed him where to put the dollar bills, and there was already a dollar bill in there! Then I showed him what the other slots were for - library card, pictures, etc - and Kelli had already put a wallet sized picture in there too! Isn't she the best?
In his back pocket, just like Daddy :)
He got the Wipeout 2 Wii game from Gramps - some VERY excited boys about that!!!
A Brain Teasers book from Tutu - which he exclaimed "YES! This is just like what I do in EAGLES!!!" Super excited!
A new puzzle from Tutu...
...and a Magic set!!! VERY exciting!
It was an all Gamecock birthday from us - a coozy for his Waterbottle, a cap, a sweatshirt, a Phiton necklace - all USC Gamecocks. He was PUMPED! He's turned into quite the Gamecocks fan this year and it's been really cute to watch!
He decided that afternoon that he wanted Hibachi for his birthday dinner, and I certainly wasn't going to complain, so off we headed to Miyabi for his birthday dinner! Good thing we made it in time for the Early Bird Specials!
Callie LOVES the soup there!
The last time we took the kids to a place like this, Callie was totally freaked out by all the fire. So she sat in David's lap like this - with her hands over her ears and ready to cover her eyes - the whole time. Just in case. She did fine though :)
I ordered Josiah an adult meal because he REALLY wanted steak and shrimp but that wasn't an option on the kids menu. He did well - and is really good at chopsticks! :) Yea for leftovers!
We stopped at a different Firehouse Subs on the way home for Josiah to pick up one more free birthday sub to take the lunch the next day. Gotta take advantage of these birthday freebies! :)
We let him stay up a bit later to play his new Wipeout game. It's pretty hilarious if you like the show.
We were cracking up the whole time.
had to improvise a bit with the candles on his cake. Couldn't find enough candles in my cupboard. So we used Jacob's old #7 candle, made a "plus" sign with toothpicks, and then added 2 candles and called it a "math" cake to equal 9! :) Whew!
I can't remember why in the world he was laughing so hard, but he totally got the giggles and could not stop laughing. It was a riot.
Happy birthday Josiah! I can't believe that it has been 9 years since you made me a mom! I remember so clearly the Thanksgiving day that you were born - how thankful we were that God gave you to us. We have had so much to be thankful for over the years! This year has been one that we have seen you grow by leaps and bounds in your confidence, your learning, your strength. You are excelling so much in school, in your advanced EAGLES program, in your karate. God has given you such a wonderful mind and such skills that He is going to use to bring Him glory! But beyond that, you can be such a wonderful helper for me with your younger brothers and sister. Thank you for being patient with them and helping me. I love your willingness to teach them things. You are a wonderful leader Josiah and I am SO proud of you! I love you!
