Cade's Birthday

wo de sheng ri shi yi yue er shi er hao
(My birthday is January 22nd)

Cade turned the big 10!  He's now a double-digit aged kid!

And he's excited to claim he celebrated this milestone birthday in China.  

sheng ri kuai le

Cade invited a few friends over after school to celebrate his 10th birthday.  It was a noisy party of boys being boys but they had fun hanging out together, opening gifts, and eating Scotcheroos.  Instead of birthday cake (not Cade's favorite - especially since it's made with chunks of jello here), Cade asked for Scotcheroos, a family favorite.  His friends loved the new American treat but who doesn't love a Rice Krispie treat made with peanut butter and topped with melted chocolate?  Best treat ever!

Cade also introduced a fun way of opening gifts to his friends.  While Cade closed his eyes, one of his friends said "Happy Birthday" in a funny voice.  Then Cade guessed who was talking.  If he answered correctly, he opened the gift; if he guessed wrong, the friend got to bonk him on the head with the gift before opening it.  The boys thought that was great fun (aka beat up the birthday boy with his gifts)!

After gifts and treats, we went to a cool show called The Dragon's Treasure.  It's in a special dome theater with lots of special effects. 

 Cade and his friends thought it was great.  I was a little worried it might be a little too scary and intense for the younger kids but, besides squeezing my hand a few times during the show, they loved it.  And, there's been no nightmares since then - double thumbs up. 

While waiting for the show to begin, the kids gained the attention of one of the guards/ushers.  He was fascinated with the blonde kids and the different nationalities of their friends.  He was especially entertained by Leah, who would not let go of one of the boys.  Notice that Leah's hanging onto one of the boy's arms.  She tried to hold his hand or be next to him the entire evening.  It looked like she had her first crush.  I kept trying to pull her away and distract her but she always found her way back to the same boy.  He was very patient with her and such a good sport.  Leah even told the kids she wanted to marry him.

Now, back to the birthday boy - Cade is an amazing kid!  He's smart, helpful, happy, and a very good example (not only to younger kids but older kids and adults too).  He enjoys reading, math, science, has a contagious laugh, loves to play sports (especially soccer), draws, plays the piano (even accompanies the Primary music on Sundays), is learning to play the ukelele, likes to build things, misses the Scouting program, and is a good looking young man (lots of moms at school often tell me how handsome Cade is).  I love Cade and am so glad he's a part of our family.