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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.


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.
Matthew is indeed a fine lad. Watching him transform is truly a blessing. I hope one day my boys will opt for saving. Their pockets currently look like Swiss cheese!
ReplyDelete12! Wow!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a special day for a special guy with lots of love from his extra special mom!