Evan Turns 9

We are a little late in posting, but 3 weeks ago Evan turned 9.  I still can't believe he is 9 already.

 He decided on a Skylanders theme for his party (a video game the kids have gotten into this year).  Brandon made another great cake, this one with one slice representing each of the 8 different elements.  Evan loved it. 

The kids colored a bunch of pictures of Skylanders characters and put all of theirs on the mantle to decorate.  So easy and fun.  We still have the coloring up 3 weeks later because the kids are still enjoying it.

Love his surprised look, especially after we found out afterwards Kyle had a hard time not telling what we bought him and had already spilled the beans.  Evan covered for him pretty well.

 He has finally learned to actually read the cards and not just shake for money and throw them to the side.  He still shakes, but then reads the cards.  Baby steps.

 An actual surprise. More Skylanders characters.  The kids play with them on the game, and then set them up and use them as action figures.  They see a significant amount of playtime every day I think.

 His own MP3 player and headphones.  So funny to see him walking around the house singing with his headphones in.

 He is looking older and older - still not sure I love that.  It's fun to see who he is growing up to be, and see his interests coming out more, but I still miss my baby boy.

 For his actual birthday I made cupcakes in the colors of the elements with simple printed toppers.  Much easier than Brandon's decorating job but still a crowd pleaser.

 All of the neighborhood kids and one of his buddies from school came over to eat cupcakes and sing to him.  My kind of kid party, and one very happy birthday boy.