Ei8ht Years

We have an 8 year old in our home! A couple weeks ago our firstborn baby turned 8. I keep saying it, hoping it will sink in, but it still hasn't.

His birthday was delightful. He shares a birthday with Yours Truly, so Jason took the day off work and we spent a fun family day together. 
So we started the day with breakfast at our favorite place and then drove up North to an amazing indoor sports center with mazes to climb through, rides to ride on and trampolines galore to bounce away on. Trampolines even on the walls so you can literally bounce off walls. It was delightful and yes, the newly 33 year old had herself a blast and lived it up big. I even did some flips and such that made me feel equally young and old all at the same time.
There was a foam pit, people. You bounce down the trampoline and land in a foam pit, which probably sounds as easy as it looked, right? Not right. Once you're in the pit of foam, its next to impossible for a big, heavy adult to climb out. Talk about humiliating. That's the part where I was glad I was surrounded by a bunch of kids. They're so non-judgemental.

Then we drove to Seattle and had dinner at our favorite restaurant, the Crab Pot, where we enjoyed an amazing dinner and had a blast grossing our kids out while we cracked the legs of our snow crabs. Ethan was brave enough to try some and when the girls saw his reaction, they caved as well. The end result was that Ethan and Rachel love crab... Kara does not.
The night ended with Skype dates from both sets of Grandparents, opened gifts and went to bed.

{at the Crab Pot, after dinner.}

As Ethan gets older there is so much that changes and so much that remains the same. He still loves to build train tracks on the playroom floor, you can find him all over the house with legos or cars, and you can still catch the occasional fit he throws when he doesn't get his way. And just so you all know, I read this post to him before it went live and got the go-ahead to post it :)

Ethan loves the Lord and one thing Jason and I are so thankful for is that when we do face struggles with him, its a delight to be able to go to him with the Gospel and remind him what God commands of us and to be met with a repentant, loving response. Its one of the greatest joys as a parent. He is quick to apologize and admit he was wrong {its a beautiful characteristic passed down from his Dad} and he's my pray-er. Whether we're in a traffic jam, hearing ambulance sirens, looking for a parking spot, or getting news of a family member or friend who needs prayer, you can count on Ethan to be the first to drop everything and pray. I love that about him. I love seeing what God is doing in his heart.

Reading while Mom shops. 

making a 'W' since his basketball team won that morning :) 

Because I don't want to give the impression he's a perfect kid, rest assured he's not. We have our daily struggles and sometimes with Ethan, they can feel moment-by-moment.

I love how helpful Ethan is.
I love that I can count on him to help me with Miles.
I love how he climbs up in my bed and starts chatting with me about anything and everything.
I love his enthusiasm for sports and the fact that he never forgets final scores to a game he's watched.
I love how excited he gets when I tell him Daddy will be home from work soon.
I love watching him Worship in church.
I love how much he loves his friend Mr Cap.
I love the way he enjoys hearing stories of when I was little and saying, "ha! so you were just a normal kid." at the end of them ;-)

We can't believe our first baby is 8, but we're so thankful to God for protecting him, giving him good health and for growing him more and more in His grace each day.

Happy Birthday, Ethan! We love you so much.