Great to be 8!

Corbin turned 8 on Thursday, November 20th.  On the day of his actual birthday he went out to lunch with Caleb and then came home and asked to play video games and watch a movie.  (I recently made a new rule that the kids can't use screens during the week, only on weekends.  So he was excited to use the xbox and the tv on a Thursday afternoon! He even did extra school work on Wednesday afternoon so that he could take the day off and just play on his special day.) Then for dinner he requested his favorite meal... breakfast.  We got him cold cereal, english muffins, sausage and bagels.  He was in heaven!

We decided against a big friend party this year so the focus could be on his baptism. So instead the next day he invited a few friends to go see the new Disney movie, Big Hero 6 with him.  At one point I looked up and saw this:

And it really got to me!  He is getting so big, dang it!  It is so cliche, but really, "What happened to my little boy?!" He should not be wandering around a shopping center checking out the little kiosks and laughing with his friends.  He should be holding his mommy's hand and laughing with me!

After my wave of emotions passed we headed home for some cake and ice cream.  It was perfect.  He is perfect, we love that kid!  While it truly does sadden me in some ways, in other ways it is the best thing ever to watch him grow and mature.  He is truly becoming a mini adult more and more everyday.  And he is such an amazing little person!  I love his desire to do good, his ability to recognize the spirit in his life, his willingness to be a good example to everyone around him, his intelligent curiosity and his sarcastic, dry sense of humor.

Two weeks later on December 6th Caleb was able to baptize our little man.  Seeing him that day was so fun and exciting, but looking back at the pictures of him in that little white jumpsuit seriously brought tears to my eyes.

He made a good decision that day, but even more so, hearing him reflect on his experience and seeing how he chooses to live each day, he consciously makes good decisions everyday.  He actively seeks out the spirit in his life and has a much deeper understanding of the gospel than I ever did at his age.  Since his baptism and confirmation he has come up to me numerous times and told me about an experience he just had (helping a neighbor, doing a good deed for his younger siblings, trying to lighten my load, etc.) and tells me how "I just can't stop smiling, like even if I wanted to, I can't.  I feel so good because I can feel the spirit really strong.  Heavenly Father must be so happy when I help people."  He is a good kid and he is going to do great things with his life.

After his baptism he wanted to have hamburgers and hot dogs with everyone in attendance. After my failed attempts at talking him out of a December BBQ we went out and bought a watermelon, made lemonade, and uncovered the grill and somehow we ended up with 60 degree weather that day.  So many family members and friends came to support him and celebrate with us, it was a most wonderful day.

After his confirmation we had neglected to inform him ahead of time that he needed to shake hands with everyone in the circle and he got a little embarrassed.  So I told him the next day to be ready when he went up on the stand to get introduced as the newest member of the ward to shake the hand of the bishops' counselor afterwards.  Well he remembered this time, but our brand new counselor did not and everyone thought he was just the cutest little man when the adult sent him on his way and he stop and stuck out his hand and waited for a firm handshake.