B's B-day Bash

My Braden turned 9 this year. 9

I'm not old enough to have kids this old . . . am I? Am I?

Anyway, this year for his birthday, he kept requesting a soft, plush, snake. Now, those of you that know me, his mother, knows that I HATE snakes. What? You didn't hear that? I wasn't forceful enough with the word hate? Oh. Let me say that again.

I.

HATE.

snakes.

But, he was bound and determined to have a "pet" snake. So, I found one online that he really liked and ordered it. I actually had to email them first, because the picture on their website showed the snake all curled up, so I wanted to make sure that it would lay straight, too, before I bought it.

B asked me EVERY day if I had gotten an email back from them yet. I had received one a couple of days after my first initial email, but I responded that "There's not a message here in my inbox from them, B. Sorry."

He was so disappointed, and after about 5 days of asking, he just quit asking. I felt kind of bad having to deceive him like that. (Hey! There really wasn't a message from them in my inbox. I had moved it to a different folder.)

Anyway, after he went to bed on his birthday eve, Brandon & I took the snake downstairs, and wrapped it up around his bed post so it would be the first thing he saw in the morning. He was stoked!! He had to wait, though, for the rest of his presents until after school. He had his snake, though, and was able to pick out a Webkinz a couple of days before, so he was fine with that.

After school, he opened up his other presents and was in heaven with what he got. One of the neighbor boys, when he found out it was B's birthday, ran home and got some presents for him - a stuffed frog, a spiderman kite, and a little cat figurine. I thought it was so sweet.


I'm nine - with lots of loot!


With his new broomstick

What for, you ask? Not for sweeping, oh no, not that! But, Harry Potter and Quidditch games.


His new tennis racket (with new tennis balls, too!)


Which eventually (three seconds after the previous picture was taken) turns into a gun


And, what he REALLY wanted - a Raider nerf gun!


My nine year old with his toys

For his b-day cake, he wanted me to make a Firebolt. You know, from, you guessed it - Harry Potter. I stewed for about a week trying to figure out how to make it - should I pour the cake batter into bowls and then stick a real stick on top of it so it looks kind of like it's standing up? Or just make several regular rectangular cakes and then just cut out the shape of a broom? Gah! What to do?

As I was stewing about it the day before his b-day, inspiration struck! A few years before, he wanted a football cake for his b-day. If you cut one of the ends off a football, it has a kind of broom look. So, that's what I did. Pure genius, if you ask me!


Getting ready to decorate




The finished Firebolt

After dinner, we sent Braden on a treasure hunt (at his request) for his very last present. It was a big one.


"Okay, where do we go from here?"


"Aha - found it! In the recycle bin?"


"That is so NOT what I wanted."

Seriously, we've never seen a kid so disappointed about . . .

wait for it . . .

a brand new bike.

But B was. He was pretty let down that we got him a new bike. "My old bike works just fine."

Sometimes. The chain has fallen off a few times, and we got it from the DI, so it's a well-used one, so when this deal came up at Christmas time for two bikes for under $75, we had to do it. But, he rides it just fine now, and is happy with it!

Then we came in to eat cake and ice cream, let the boys fly around on broomsticks and then call it a day. B lit the candles on his cake, and got the first and biggest piece. It was a pretty good tasting broom, too, if I say so myself.


Look at the concentration on his face!


"Ready, Set . . ."


". . . Blow!!!)


Bear enjoying his cake, and soy ice cream

(BTW, in my opinion, soy ice cream is not that good. At all. Really.)



Happy Birthday, B! We love you so very much.