My tween-ager

Matthew had his twelfth birthday today (October 13). Let me just say - this kid likes birthdays! He celebrates each little pleasure throughout the day - from a special breakfast (oatmeal-buttermilk pancakes - you could be impressed if you didn't know that we had "late start" today and I still ended up running around like crazy before we left for school), bringing treats to his "advisory" (think home-room from the good-old days) and the family-fun birthday party.

This birthday is special because this is the last birthday for a long time without "teen" in the title. Matthew actually received clothes for his birthday for the first time (and was happy about it). When we went shopping shortly after school started we bought him quite a few new things. We hadn't bought much in recent years and the kids dress a bit more casually in middle-school here. (Which means he wants to save his collared shirts for Sunday :) We hit a GREAT sale at the mall and he decided that some of the new clothes could be birthday presents. Luckily, he isn't very picky about clothes, so this is the first time in his life he has ever cared about what he wears and is still pretty laid-back about it.

Matthew's other birthday present combined 2 of his favorite things - Legos and Harry Potter. When he asked for this present, I agreed to it only if these special Legos were put together and then displayed away from the rest of the Legos. (Taken down as needed to play and rebuild.) We have never been a "build the Lego pattern" type of family, but I didn't want to see these Legos get mixed up with all the other Legos we inherited (thanks Brent) or received as gifts. Harry Potter Legos on Ebay are crazy expensive, so luckily the Lego website had this new Quiddich kit for sale at a reasonable price (it was 1/4th the price of a similarly sized Quiddich set that was released previously and for sale on Ebay). (side note: Ebay is an interesting place, because I think it makes some things sell for more than I feel they are worth! The Lego website actually limits how many new sets you can buy - to prevent people from hording, then reselling - eish!)

When I asked Matthew if he wanted a "theme" cake, he said, "no, just a cake is fine". (Believe it or not, sometimes Matthew likes to make things "easy" or cost efficient for me.) Of course, I still like making the cake a little special. Past cakes have included Harry Potter and Legos - no big surprise. We also have had Rescue Heroes (age 5), Pokemon and a soccer ball shaped cake (that was last year). No one will forget the turtle birthday cake, because that was the theme for everyone's 2nd birthday. We also had a butterfly cake one year, back when we raised Monarchs from eggs.

ahhh- you can see why I wasn't quite ready to give it up. Anna and I found little kit of the solar system at the store, so we made that the theme. Matthew loves science, so it was a good fit. Of course, the package indicated that there were 8 planets (well...7 planets and the sun), but by the time the cake was made we had only 6 planets to orbit the sun. I am not sure if one was missing when we bought the package or if perhaps one was misplaced by little fingers (not that I am pointing fingers). I told Matthew to remember that it was just an artist's rendition of the solar system :)

After Matthew's birthday dinner he had Religious Ed. at church. Before we left, however, someone decided to push each and every planet (and the sun) into the cake. We won't tell tales, but the guilty party did say, "I say sorry to Matthew in the car, so now I have cake?" Matthew didn't seem to mind. After we removed all the planets he said, "Actually, it looks a bit like the Milky Way now."

I know Matthew is growing up, as he gave me most of his birthday money to put in his 529 college account. (We match any money the kids put in there, so it is a pretty good deal. Plus he still has a majority of his Christmas money left, if he wants to buy something.) Regardless, I am glad that he sees the benefit of saving at a young age and that the money didn't burn a hole is his pocket as it might of in younger days. I need to make sure his siblings hear about his decision, since they are still in the "burning a hole" stage.

Although Ken was in Atlanta for Matthew's birthday, I know he had a great day. (I think he used those words himself.) Ken told Matthew that he will make him his favorite dinner (currently grilled shrimp) this weekend.