The Big 1-2!

Shadow's birthday was yesterday. He turned 12. On Sunday, he will have his first birthday party, ever! Even though the party isn't until this weekend, we wanted to make his actual birthday super special.

He's only been with us for one week, but we still had some good ideas of what to get him. Hot wheels, a basketball hoop and ball for his room, and Wii motorcycle game. Oh, and an alarm clock (but that's not as fun, just practical -- but very necessary once school starts next week and he'll be in charge of getting himself up on time). To start the day, we let Shadow sleep in as late as he wanted, which ended up being until about 10! When he finally got up, we did a rousing version of "Happy Birthday," singing in the most annoying, off-pitch voices we could muster (which wasn't too hard for me). When he flopped down on the couch, we suggested he might want to meander into the kitchen. He did, and saw his presents on the table. "Holy Moly!" was his immediate reaction, which made me feel really good inside because I figured he must feel special and that the day was off to a good start.

He opened his presents, and we even got a smile out of him as he did. Though we did have to "force" him to smile as he held up all his presents.

Then we finally got to eat breakfast: biscuits and gravy, per his request. I have only made biscuits and gravy about three times in my entire life, but they must have tasted good, because Shadow gobbled them down like there was no tomorrow.

Lawrence and him headed to the gym, and when they got back we went to McDonalds for lunch. Now if you know me, you know that required a whole lot of love on my part. I actually ordered my very first Happy Meal, for Coralyn. I actually had to ask for help! We ate and then had some fun at the Play Place. I'm not sure who played more: Coralyn or Shadow? :)

All afternoon Lawrence and Shadow hung out. It was Lawrence's last official day of summer, so Shadow was lucky to have him the whole entire day! They played laddergolf, shot some hoops, played on the Wii, and just had guy time. Later, we all went to the community center for a swim. I swear Shadow is half fish, as he wants to go swimming, every single day! I think he would live at the pool if we let him :)

We grabbed some school supplies from Wal-Mart and then had spaghetti for supper, once again Shadow's request. The cake will wait until Sunday when we have the big party. I am excited about the big event and looking forward to sharing this special memory with him. I am so thankful to all our friends and family who are coming to help make this a super day for Shadow. We couldn't do any of this without their support and prayers.

With that said, I will keep you posted on how the birthday party turns out. For now, I need to get some stuff done while both toddlers are asleep (Carson is back today! Coralyn was so excited to wake up to find her best buddy here this morning!).