It's Been 8 Years, 11 Months, 30 Days, 23 Hours and 38 Minutes

Preston is nine. Nine is cool. It's a pretty laid back age. It only gives me one moment of concern. Being nine means that next year, he'll be ten. That's double digits. That's scary. The realization that he's been mine for 9 years is great. The realization that in 9 more, he'll be on his own is not.

Moving on from my sudden awareness, Preston did, in fact, have a birthday. True to form, he was politely pleased with all his presents (no more bursting with enthusiasm for this guy, he's too old for that). He did shock me by requesting donuts for breakfast instead of the old eggs Benedict stand-by. I wasn't complaining. So much less work for me.

After breakfast, he played around with his new scooter and then got ready for his game. He got a hit, stole two bases, and scored the winning run. It was the last regular season game. Not bad for a birthday gift.



His only other birthday request was dinner at Olive Garden. Again, less work for me. However, I have a little gripe for O.G. Since when do you charge for birthday cake? That's messed up, yo! You owe me $8!

The real celebrating starts this weekend. We had too many family members out of town and too busy of a schedule last weekend to throw a party. I'll post more on that later. For now, here are some birthday morning pictures for your viewing pleasure.



Preston is still our perfect little man. He's mature beyond his years in someways, and way immature (like a 9 year old boy) in others. He's the best big brother and never blinks an eye when I ask him to take Abby potty, get Will out of his crib, help Carson with his homework, or take out the trash for me. He's always so willing to help. But he's always quick to remind me when his allowance is due.

He's completed all his requirements for his Wolf badge thing too. I was unaware that the entire book had to be completed in one year. I kind of thought it would last him until Boy Scouts commenced. I'm a Cub Scout idiot apparently. We did race through the book marking off things he's done in scouts this year (why didn't the cub scout leader do this?) and things he's done at home, school, and even in baseball that could count. Surprisingly, normal life passes off a lot of those things. I can't wait to get pinned again!



He's kicking trash in school this year. Not to brag or anything (well, yes, actually. I'm perfectly aware I'm bragging), but Preston was invited to Scholars Night. He was recognized for a piece of writing he authored this year. Only six second graders were invited to Scholars night and Pres was one of them. We didn't realize what a big deal it was until we got there. Out of the 650 odd students at the school, only 70 students were honored. The story he wrote was supposed to be fashioned after the book "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie". Preston's title was "If You Take A Wolf To The White House". He refused to tell us what it was about. Even getting mildly irritated at us for pestering him about it.

However, it was sent home in his backpack and I stole it before he could hide it from me. I would scan it but my scanner has too big of a pile on it to be moved so I'll just copy it down for you.

If you take a wolf to the White House he will want to meet the president. When he meets the president he will see that the president is wearing a tuxedo so he will want one too. So, you get him a size medium and he'll say it's too small. So, you will say "No tuxedo".

Then he will see a limo and he will ask for a ride home. When he gets home he will watch the president's speech. When he sees the speech he will want you to take him to the White House again! The end.



Pretty good if I say so myself. And I do say so. Anyway, we're super proud of him and how well he's done this year. We love our little man and couldn't ask for a better oldest child.