Happy Birthday Jack!

The quote of the day-
"I know that it's right, because I observated it myself." (Jack)

Today is Jack's 8th birthday. I can't believe how fast 8 years have gone. I know that is what everyone tells you when they talk about their own grown kids, but it is so true. Jack is hard to buy a present for. He's too old for toys. Like most other children these days, he already has one of almost everything. And, since we don't encourage tv or electronic gaming in our house, things like Wii and DS are out too. So, I took him to our favorite toy store last week to choose a gift from Grammy, and he spent close to an hour diligently scanning the stores shelves. He picked a small aquarium that houses a sort of enclosed ecosystem, with two miniature frogs and one snail. It's very low maintenance, and seems like a good opportunity for Jack to experience pet ownership with very little work for me. Ted gave him a full set of Red Sox baseball cards. Elliot wants me to take him to the store tonight to pick out a piece of candy for Jack, a chompo bar, perhaps. I ordered him some wiffle ball base and strike zone nets. We'll serve his favorite dinner (other than sushi, since we're having that this weekend) on the "special" plate - hamburgers on the grill, smiley face fries, and cucumber salad.

I drove him to camp this morning like usual, and made sure to tell him all the things about him that are special: his kind heart and gentleness, his intelligence, his love of sports and puzzles, how he still likes to cuddle with us, his wonderful ability to draw, his special love of babies, how kind he is to his little brothers, and his handsome face! I also made sure to tell him how much I love him, and I put a little note to that effect together in his lunch today as well. Happy Birthday Jack!