Yesterday we celebrated our favorite 14 year old! The day started with Shipley’s which simply cannot be beat…
Then lunch and presents…
Then friends and football and wings!
I sure do love our birthday boy!
Celebrating
FOURTEEN
On Sunday Spencer will be FOURTEEN! Happy birthday to my sweet, easy going, blue eyed baby!
Newborn…
One year old…
Two years old…
Three years old…
Four years old…
Five years old…
Six years old…
Seven…
Eight…
Nine years old…
Ten…
Eleven…
Twelve…and the same shirt!
Thirteen…
and now FOURTEEN!
Oh how I love this kid. As always, he’s a happy kid who plays hard, tries hard, and loves hard. Spencer is disciplined. I never have to ask him to do his homework or check if he’s studied for a test. He knows what he needs to do and does it (generally) without complaint so he can move on to do something else that’s more fun – like the Xbox! ha! This discipline carries over into sports as well. He never complains about having to go to practice and isn’t afraid to put in the work to get better.
He remains my easy going man in the middle. We need his laid back nature and ability to keep the peace. That said, he’s not a pushover and he definitely knows what he wants – and what he doesn’t want. He’s opinionated but agreeable. Strong and lovable. Determined and doesn’t care too much what other people think. Really good qualities that balance us all out.
Spencer is a great teammate and the kind of kid coaches love to have on their team. He works hard, does what he’s supposed to do, encourages his teammates, and plays to win. He also keeps a great perspective on the losses and never lets his emotions get out of check. He was a clutch player on the baseball team last spring and summer and stepped up to play catcher when no one else would play. This fall he has had a FANTASTIC football season! He earned the starting cornerback position and has played it so well all season long. I am so proud of how he handles himself on and off the field. He has great sportsmanship.
Spencer and Maxwell and Samantha can fight like cats and dogs but every day I am so thankful they have each other. He and Maxwell know how to push each other’s buttons like no other – but I know their lives are so much better with each other in them. They talk football all day long, wrestle and beat each other up, and rage bait each other until they’re blue in the face. One provokes and one fights – who does what depends on the day! Spencer and Samantha can be the same way – but mainly Spencer provoking Samantha who is decidedly not chill about it! ha! But at the end of the day they all love each other and our house feels full and fun with all three of them in it. I am so thankful we have our Spencey – the calm in the storm!
Spencer is having a great year in 8th grade and ended the first 9 weeks with all As! I’m so proud of his hard work. He balances it with football and scouts and is doing so well. He has really solidified a good friend group this year and I couldn’t have picked better friends for him myself. Spencer does a good job staying out of the drama and making good decisions, even when it’s hard. He’s a loyal and likable guy!
A little interview with Spencer:
Favorite book? Hunger Games
Favorite TV show? Garfield
Favorite movie? Creed
Favorite color? green
Favorite song? New Year’s Day by Charlie Robison
Favorite number? 7
Favorite restaurant? Tecate
Favorite thing to eat? cheese dip
Favorite friend? Henry
Favorite toy? Xbox
Favorite dessert? Brownies
Favorite sport? Football
What do you want to be when you grow up? Sports analyst
I’m so proud of Spencer. He’s a good, good kid with the biggest heart and I’m so thankful he’s mine.
Happy 14th birthday, Spencer!! We love you!!
Celebrating
I had a good day celebrating my 48th! I got to play singles and doubles in my softcourt match that morning and then I got to watch the 8th grade Spartans pull out a win in overtime! Can’t beat that. I then even got to have one of GJ’s homemade chocolate pies. You most certainly cannot beat that!!
Thankful to celebrate another year with my favorite people!
Make it a great weekend!
Surprise!
I convinced Robert that we should all go out to dinner again on Sunday night for his birthday. I think he really wanted to just lay on the couch and order pizza, especially since it was raining, but he was a good sport and headed out with us! When we walked into the private room at Automatic Seafood I think he was genuinely surprised – and understood why I said we needed to go out!
We had apps out, wine open, and even a personalized menu! That’s how you celebrate 50!
So thankful that so many of the family members could be there…
Especially Ronnie who came in on two wheels thanks to a delayed flight with the rain! We sure were glad he made it!
Love my four.
We all had a fantastic meal and I think everyone tried something new…I can’t way they all liked what they tried but they tried!
I then had one more surprise up my sleeve for Robert…
I tried to think about what Robert really loves – and he loves good music. He especially loves good music with his friends. So, I got the numbers of all of his college and high school buddies and texted them asking them to send me a song that reminds them of Robert or one that they knew he would like. Well, his friends delivered! I put them all into a Spotify playlist and it clocks in at 8 hours and 17 minutes of listening fun! To give it to Robert I created a “cd” for him to open…
I have to say, I outdid myself! ha! I was pretty proud of the cd case, complete with liner notes and a paper cd with QR code that linked to the playlist.
I think Robert loved it and everyone had fun talking about the songs for the rest of the evening.
and the cousins had fun hanging together…
It was a fantastic celebration of our favorite 50 year old!!
We love you Robert!
birthday
Taking a break in the Robert celebrations to celebrate me! ha! Thankful for another year that I get to celebrate with these four…
I get to play tennis all day and watch Spencer play football tonight. I couldn’t ask for a better birhtday!!
Make it a great day!