tiny boy to my big boy

Cade celebrated his 8th birthday Star Wars style with a Darth Vader invasion (his dad). Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough time to get the lightsabers ready (skinny balloons) so he just got pelted with tennis balls, paddle balls, and anything else lying around that looked like a weapon. Darth Vader was smart to take the kids to the bedroom for tickle wars.

His gifts included star wars toys and legos---perfect---and books (friends of the library book sale---love it!) and a paint set, a canvas and a pallet that hooks on the thumb. Cade hasn't ever shown much interest in art, but at one point over the course of this month he said that he had always wanted a pallet, so I jumped on it! He also got duct tape and clothespins. Zane jumped on the duct tape like a dog on a bone, and was going ninety miles an hour making arrows like street lanes on our friends tile floor (I hope it comes off!) and a boat out of box lid for the bathtub. Van said that his hands could hardly work as fast as he could think of ideas for the duct tape. Balloonies, you have a new competitor. I'm glad Cade let him use it.

Van got to visit Cade's classroom today to read a book. They both loved it. Cade was star student of the week, so here's what we wrote to his class on his 8th birthday:

November 8, 2012

Hello!
Here is a little bit about your friend, Cade. Cade is tenacious. This means that he will not give up, even when things are hard. He is an excellent rock climber, and one time, through his hard work, even beat his dad to the top of a giant boulder! Cade finds a way to make things work even when the task seems impossible to the rest of us.

Cade is a lot of fun. He smiles a lot, and laughs at his family’s silliness. From his very first words, he has been so friendly, and will talk to people and make them feel important. He is especially good at talking with elderly people.

Cade is handy. He is a great problem solver if something is broken or if there is a situation that needs attention. He has very good ideas about how to fix broken toys or how to fix a problem. He is also helpful and can see if someone like his mom needs a door held open, and he takes out the trash quickly when asked. He helps his younger brother and sister. Cade is tidy and orderly and prefers to have his clothes and toys organized. Although he likes messy things like mud, he wants to have his teeth brushed, his hair combed and he loves a great bubble bath!

Cade is prompt. This means that he likes to be on time or early. He also likes to work quickly. Cade is usually three steps ahead, and has a plan. If his parents are in charge of the plan, he wants to know it, and he really wants us to stick to it. He doesn’t like it when we miss out on an event like church.

Cade is good with numbers, and he enjoys reading. He likes to read books about science (like volcanoes, earthquakes or any other terrible natural disaster) or about events that really happened (like about the Titanic, another disaster). He has been riding his bike since before he was five years old, and he likes sports. His favorite is tennis, but he has mostly had the opportunity to play soccer, basketball and baseball. He is especially good at finding weaknesses in the other team and taking opportunity to intercept the ball. He is also a great encourager to his teammates.

Cade likes to play with Bakugans, Transformers, and LEGOS. Did I mention Legos? If Cade’s room is quiet, he is building. It is one of the few times that he plays alone or quietly with his siblings. We added up one of his house creations that took ten hours. He also likes to get ahold of string, tape and cardboard for all types of inventions. He once had our whole house strung up like a spider web. I suppose he was trying to get his parents stuck in the web. Maybe he was a fly.

Cade loves animals. He has owned a hermit crab named Crabby and a bearded dragon named Sir Hiss. He loves his grandparent’s dogs, but is really looking forward to having a dog at our house. Cade is very gentle with animals and can be trusted to take care of them.

Cade likes video games and he likes TV. His favorites include Phineas and Ferb, Wild Kratts and the Crocodile Hunter. He also likes the old cartoons like Yogi Bear and Scooby Doo. He likes to watch football games with his dad and even presidential debates! He always has a lot of good questions about shows that he doesn’t watch often.

Cade is our boy, and he makes us proud. This has been the best eight years ever. We thank God for Cade.