Happy Birthday Mikey Bear!

So my big guy turned 8 last week!! We celebrated his birthday that day at school when I brought in fudgesicles. He was so cute because he also happened to be the star of the week in his class, so he had a special chair that he was sitting in and a crown that he was wearing when I got there. They also announced his name over the loud speaker (which made him feel so special) and his class sang to him. It is so great to see how many friends he has at school and you can tell that he is well liked by his classmates. That night Gigi and Papa came over for his birthday dinner. He always asks for breakfast for his special dinner so that is what we had. He opened some gifts and we ate brownies. The next day we had a "friend party" for him. It was star-wars themed, of course! We played games, drank "yoda soda" ate cake and opened gifts. I was so ready for the party to be over- I think we had 9 boys that came. It was a little wild with all those boys!! This past Sunday we had our family party. I love getting both sides of our family together. It is so much fun to see all the kids playing and having fun. Here are some things that I love about John:

- He has such a sweet nature and is incredibly easy going
- He is so good to his little brothers (he has his moments) and shares so nicely with
them
- He loves to hunt and fish with his dad. He has been big John's fishing partner
since he was 3 years old
- He is a rule follower and a great example to others
- His teachers love him because he is such a sweet boy and such a joy to be around
- He has a great laugh and it is contagious
- He loves to goof around and smile
- He loves to eat healthy foods and will eat almost anything I serve him
- He is a gentleman and holds the door open for me
- He is a good helper and when I tell him to do something, he almost never complains
- He is a great reader
- He gets along great with others

We just love this boy and couldn't imagine our lives with out him. We are blessed to call him our son and couldn't be more proud of the young man that he is becoming. I can't believe that we are half way to when he will get his driver's license. That is scary to think about!