Nine Years

Nine years ago today, my first kiddo was born! So hard to believe.  Amazing how much life has changed.  We have become parents, and he is becoming a young man.  He is outgrowing some of his childishness.  The other day, we stopped at the park to play after swimming, he played for only a few minutes then joined me in the shade. He commented, "Mom, the playground seems kind of boring now."  I explained that he is growing up and some of those things that used to seem so fun, might not be as fun now.  He thought about that for a few minutes.

He is changing so much everyday.  This summer he passed the swim test to go into the deep end at the public pool.  The public pool is now so MUCH more fun than it used to be.  They will spend an hour or more jumping off the diving board, swimming to the edge and jumping again.  He is working hard to pass his current level in swimming lessons.  It is harder this year because the skills required to pass are very specific.  It is no longer about just being comfortable in the water.

Caiden has decided that he really likes birds.  We have gone on a couple of bird watching trips.  He has a field guide that is always in his backpack or coat pocket. He got some new binoculars for his birthday that will fit him better (including the cool straps, instead of just the neck strap). He often knows the name of birds that we see and has even started to learn some interesting information about them.  He will often get up before the rest of us and go sit in his favorite places to watch birds as the sun comes up.  He can sit quietly for a half hour or more, just watching and listening.

Some pictures from our gathering yesterday.

 Plug n play Big Buck Safari.  Already a Big Hit.  Great fun.

 A clock radio with automatic time set, ceiling projection and 6 kinds of nature sounds to listen to.

Star Wars movies. Happy happy boy!

 Ant farm...just need ants now!  Thanks Grandpa for setting it up with him!

 This reaction is for the James Audubon Bird coloring book.  Classic.

 Beautiful Bird house.  ( I scored this at the farmers market a couple of weeks ago.)

 Bald Eagle Kite.  Thanks Grandpa for flying it with Caiden!
I think Grandpa enjoyed the birthday presents as much as Caiden did!

And even though we did serve Chocolate pie yesterday, I TOTALLY forgot the candles and singing...What kind of mother am I????  Oh, well, thankfully I had made two pies. So, we enjoyed chocolate pie for breakfast and sang to him then! (which was his REAL birthday after all!)