Justin says "Its Great to be 8!"

March 3, 2012

Happy Birthday Justin!

Pulling out of the parking lot of LifeTime Fitness after the party of his life, Justin said "Mom, am I eight?"  And I said "Yes, of course!  Today you are 8!"  In a tired but content voice, Justin confirmed to himself "I am eight today."
My kids only get big birthday parties on "big birthdays".  The designated birthdays are 5 (it was six for Justin I think), 8, 12 and 16.  The other years we do something lower key with fewer friends.   Because this year is a BIG year, and our home is not really a good setup for indoor birthday parties, we decided to tryout taking the birthday elsewhere.  Since we LOVE Lifetime Fitness, and they happen to have an indoor pool that my kids (especially Justin) LOVE to go to, we decided to do a Pool Party there for Justin.  He invited just a few friends from school, church (the kids in his class) and his two neighbor friends he spends almost every day with (all the kids were his age and kids he interacts with regularly).  It turned out to be a fantastic idea.  The kids all showed up at 4pm and went straight to the basketball courts for some activities.  Their favorite activity  was the scooters, of course.  From there we all went up to a special room for pizza, cupcakes and presents.  And the last hour was spent in the pool.  Everyone seemed to have a blast, especially Justin!  He was so excited to hang out with his friends at his favorite place!  (My posts are always dedicated to our yearly family blog book.  I wasn't sensitive in this one because I want the details for our memories.  Please do not be hurt if you were not invited to Justin's party.  Only 2nd graders this time :)

A few words about Justin:
Justin loves so many things I just don't know where to begin!  First of all, Justin loves to draw.  He draws everything. Right now its musical instruments, trains, and Sponge Bob (I know I know, how revolting.  He watched one episode without my permission and now he is hooked on anything Sponge Bob.  He comes home with library books, and is constantly drawing all the characters.  He even knows their names.  Ugh).  Then there's musical instruments.  Justin is extremely curious about all musical instruments, their sound, their name and what they look like.  Justin also loves playing the piano.  He isn't in lessons yet, but he imitates the melodies of all the songs Millie is learning.  Justin also enjoys being outside, doing anything from swinging on the tire swing to hunting for bugs, chipmunks and squirrels, as well as flying down our neighborhood hills on his bike or scooter.  Justin also loves going to the Lifetime pool.  But his favorite thing to do these days is playing with his neighborhood friends, Zach and Kai.  Justin has an incredibly sweet disposition.  He is loving school, is fully integrated in second grade classroom with tons of friends and a wonderful teacher (as well as spec ed teacher and instructional assistant that work with him).  We are so proud of Justin and all the progress he is making!  I love you Justin!!  

"Wow, this is so much fun!!"

(I love this picture, because I see a tiny hint of smile in Justin's big breath!)

Justin is so excited to be a new Cub Scout!!