Shrimp in cream sauce...

Joseph had his 9th birthday this month. (On a side note here, he's not my first child to turn 9, but it still gets me everytime. It's a big turning point in their maturity and ability. Seems like they move out of childhood just a bit more during this year. So bittersweet! I think I say that whenever they pass a land mark age...ahh the sorrow and joy of motherhood.) Okay, back to the birthday post.

We celebrated at grandma and grandpa's house (THANK YOU!) as my kitchen was not usuable that day. (Mark was putting flooring in! Kitchen update coming soon.) So we headed over and cooked and celebrated there.

For birthday dinner the kids get to choose, within reason, what they want for dinner. Joe wanted shrimp in cream sauce. When he first asked I thought it was an interesting choice, then he explained that it was his favorite characters favorite food from his current FAVORITE books. Thus I made Ripred's favorite dish, curtesy of "Gregor the overlander" series.

The dinner:


Eating it "Ripred" style (ripred is a giant rat):


There was plenty to go around:


And red sauce for those non-shrimp fans:


He chose ice cream cake:


His presents were a hit. Here is the fabulous book light:


I am eternally grateful to the booklight. Bedtime can be hard, as Joe keeps his younger brother awake talking to him. Joe can go on less sleep than Peter can, and the booklight allows him to read and brother to sleep. Wo-hooo!!

Hotwheels cars:


I thought that hotwheel cars were cool because they were toy cars. Little did I know that true car lovers, such as my boys are, actually collect them for the love of real cars that they represent. Apparantly I found some good ones, even without the help of a male!

Grandma and grandpa gave him the best gift of all, an afternoon out with grandma to the book store (where he surprisingly did not buy a Gregor book):



Happy birthday Joseph!