Last Monday our first born – Ethan George – turned 9! With this now last year of single digits and halfway to adulthood realm we find ourselves in, I will once again proclaim that time is flying by far too quickly and my little man is no longer so little!
He has spent most of his free time over the last 7 days sat under his bed (it’s a mid-sleeper) with his new lava lamp on and doing his 1000 dot to dot book that my mum bought him. He has found great joy and satisfaction in it, as well as riding his new red bike to and from school every day. He looked awesome when he stepped out of the house yesterday for church with his waistcoat and bow tie on, and new Harry Potter satchel flung over his shoulder – Nathan and I laughed as he looked like a mini professor on his way to campus, so cute and quirky!
Ethan is a really good kid with a beautiful cheeky smile and beautiful eyes! He is very strong and there are so many great things about him; from his kindness, thoughtfulness, sensitivity to things and humour, as well as his talents and energy. He is smart and fast, often thinks of others and desires to do well. Of course he can be slow moving at times, not always interested in what we have to say or can’t see what is right in front of him. But at the end of the day, he is only 9 and being the eldest of a family (encouraged to be an example) must feel like a lot of pressure at times!
Ethan has been so excited about his birthday that we have been hearing about it since just after the Summer! Because of his persistent birthday chat, I threw the “alternate party/family day out” rule out of the window and said that as it is their birthday, they can choose what they would prefer each year; if that’s a party every year then go ahead, or if they wanted a family day out, that works great too – just choose something that will bring you joy as you celebrate YOUR day!
Even with that change though and hours of potential party talk, in the end he settled on a family day out any way (typical) and we ended up at Magna – for a science adventure. He loves science and so Magna seemed like the obvious place when he said “I want to go somewhere we can do science for my birthday”! It ticked all the boxes and we all had a fab day there – fascinated by the interactive exhibits and bonding as we played together. If you haven’t been, we would recommend it – it is super interesting, a great building and atmosphere, and very hands on and fun for kids of all ages. It held a lot of WOW moments and an eerie atmosphere which was cool – We spent most of the weekend and beyond talking about what a great place it was and how we can’t wait to return again in the school holidays next year!
Aside from an awesome day at Magna, he also celebrated turning 9 by accompanying me to see Billionaire Boy at Hull New Theatre for a date on the Tuesday before (it was funny and lovely to be together), and we also had some of his cousins over on the Sunday after church for cake and playing. I made him (by request) a lemon drizzle cake which actually worked really well and tasted delicious! And then, on his actual birthday, we showered him gifts – including the bike, satchel, lava lamp, and a lego set, as well as some favourite treats, deodorant and some pencils and a T shirt. He had pancakes for brekkie and Pizza for tea!
At 9 years old I want to remember how he asks to still hold my hand when we walk places and how he comes and kisses me every night. I want to remember the cheeky grin he pulls before every piano or trumpet performance, and how he laughs like me at inappropriate times (but will get embarrassed if I am overly silly or talkative when he doesn’t want me to be!).
I want to remember his continued love for lights and music, lego and Harry Potter. How he plays mathletics every night whilst listening to cool tunes, and has friends calling for him daily. I want to remember his love for science, building things and teddies/soft toys… how he has them hung around his room, tucked up in his bed, and talks about them all with such emotion and feeling. At least one will come out with him in the car and he finds them all so cute!
I want to remember how kind he is when he helps Alice and how much he loves his sisters – he can be so caring and helpful to them, and how he always remembers Poppy in things and isn’t afraid to talk about her at home, church or school.
I want to remember how he is full of big ideas about all kinds of things and how excited he gets for family film night, his favourite dinners and moments we say “yes” to his ideas! I want to remember how he trashes shoes so quickly and seems to always grow!
I also want to remember these day, for the nutty moments he plays his keyboard or trumpet at the most inappropriate time of day, or has half the neighbourhood over playing on the trampoline and pilfering things out of the garage to decorate their club house with. How he get very silly about things (usually with his sisters) and how he hides “midnight snacks” and thinks I don’t know!
I want to remember the joy from him when he hears his favourite songs, when he is in charge of music in the car, or when he sees a cool car!
Ethan – you are a little beaut, try me like no other and are full of mad skills! Happy 9th Birthday my darling boy – another adventure of a year and double figures await!
