After all the fun we had on Easter and Caden's Birthday, we weren't even done celebrating yet.
We couldn't wait to make Caden's 9th birthday the best one yet. If you remember last year is when we were in the early days of the pandemic and there was so much uncertainty. Caden's birthday plans had to be cancelled and he was so great to understand that things had to be different. So this year we wanted to make it up to him and I promised him we would make his 9th birthday epic.
Caden had a baseball game on the Monday after his birthday and we planned to go to dinner at his favorite place, Red Robin, after, but when we got to the restaurant at 7:00 pm they said the wait was an hour and a half long. We were all starving and didn't want to wait that long, so we went over to Sizzler and got Caden a steak and ice cream... two of his favorite foods. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but Caden is really great at understanding sometimes things don't go as planned.
Then on Saturday, April 10 Caden got to have a birthday party with is friends.
Caden invited Seth and Eli from school; Johnny, Stephen, and Nate from the neighborhood; Bentley and his cousin Camden.
We had an obstacle course set up to mimic the Mario video game. The kids started out by going through the tunnel, then they had to smash King Boo (Make a basket), then they had to collect three coins hanging in the tree, run over to smash a goomba (pop a balloon), do a trick on the tramp, kill Bowser (make the ball go into the hole 3 times) then slide down the flagpole (slide). The kids had a blast.
How cute is Brynnli? She dressed up like Princess Peach all by herself.
After the obstacle course the kids were starving. Pizza and drinks for the win.
Next Caden got to open his presents. He got a lot of Legos and toys.
We played another game called "Fire power the Piranah Plant" where they had to take cheeseballs and make them into a basket.
Caden got to blow out the candle on his Mario cupcake.
Just when you thought the fun was over, the next day we had another party with our family. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and played the obstacle course with the cousins. I was seriously laughing so hard watching the big cousins, Carson and Colton, trying to beat each other. Tyler even joined in and won the whole thing in the fastest time.
Caden got even more presents from family members. I swear he got every single Lego Mario set available.
Caden has been wanting Monopoly for so long and he finally got it! Thanks Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob.
This time dessert was donuts. YUM
Happy 9th birthday to the best Buddy around. In honor of Caden's 9th birthday, here are 9 things we love about our little Cader Mater:
1. Caden is the sweetest kid. I'm not kidding, you will never meet a more thoughtful kid than Caden. He is always looking out for others. Sometimes in speech he gets to choose a prize and Caden will often choose a prize to give to his sisters instead of himself. When given the chance to choose something for himself, he will usually put his wants aside and do what the other person wants. This is such a great quality, but one thing we are working on at home and at school is standing up for himself and when appropriate, choosing what he wants to do.
2. Caden is so smart. He is doing so well at school. He loves math and science and he's learning cursive. He tries his best at everything he does and his teachers tell us how great he is to have in class.
3 He loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and has read all of them more times than he can count. In fact a lot of his stories begin with "In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules..." We love that he loves to read.
4. Some nights Caden comes down to our room at bedtime and goes, "Mom? Dad? I can't go to sleep." We laugh together and he climbs in the middle of our bed and falls asleep. Sometimes he's a bed hog, and sometimes we complain about him sleeping in the middle, but we will always remember this special snuggle time with our Buddy.
5. Caden is so great at sports. He just started baseball again for the spring and is doing so well. He plays 2nd base and right field. He also loves playing basketball.
6. Legos. This kid loves Lego and can literally build anything. He is so creative. And he loves to figure out how things work. I think this kid is destined to become an engineer someday.
7. His stories. We are working on telling shorter stories and just giving the main idea, but we love Caden's extra detailed stories.
8. Caden loves treats. His favorite is cake with a lot of frosting. If cake isn't available, he will choose cookies, candy, or anything sweet. Let's face it, Caden is not the best eater. He likes meat, fruit, and treats... that's it. I usually have to bribe him to eat his veggies by offering a treat at the end. The best is when we make him try a bite of beans or mashed potatoes and he literally gags. It's the funniest and saddest thing to watch.
9. 9 years ago our "surprise baby" came into our lives. Caden is such a blessing to our family. He's funny and sweet. He's smart and sarcastic. He's loving and understanding. He's the best little buddy. We hope he had an epic 9th birthday!
