My baby boy turned nine yesterday. You know how people say things like, "Oh, I can't believe little so-and-so is already X years old"? Yeah, I don't say things like that.
I have no problem believing that it's been nine years since my son was born because it's been a looong nine years. But not because of him. He's a bright spot for me every day. I am eternally grateful that he's my son and that I get to be his mom.
Adam constantly amazes me. He's bright, funny, articulate, dramatic, and goofy. And even though he's a pretty handsome kid, it's almost impossible to get a good picture of him because he does his over-the-top cheesola smile and most of them end up looking like this:
He's completely obsessed with video games, so much so (as evidenced in his interview below) that we have to stop him from playing too much lest he turn into Mario, or Luigi, or Sonic.
To celebrate his birthday, we took him and a few of his friends to see Kung Fu Panda 2. They were cute. They laughed uproariously through most of the movie, and didn't cry at the sad parts. My friend Jill and I did though. I sure felt like a boob crying in an animated movie about a stupid noodle-loving awkward fighting panda.
And the conversation that followed the movie (from the back of my car) was entertaining on so many levels. I never knew that eight year-old/nine year-old boys could be so very entertaining. I don't even remember most of what was said but I do know that it was some sort of contest to see who could tell the worst story about his younger siblings. I know somewhere in there was a comment about one boy's five year-old sister having three boyfriends. (Yeah, her mom was surprised to hear that too).
The friend party took place the Saturday before his birthday. On his actual birthday, we held a family party. We served Adam's favorite foods - Shrimp Cocktail (thanks Nicole for the gift of birthday shrimp), Stuffed Artichokes "the way mom makes them", and garlic pasta. We had a Sonic the Hedgehog birthday cake, opened presents (Legos were involved), and got overly full.
All in all it was a great birthday.
But cake aside, presents aside, shrimp and artichokes aside...wanna know what my favorite part of his birthday was? It was the part where he said (more than once), "Mom, thanks for making this such a great birthday. I know you're spending a lot of time and a lot of money on my birthday and just thank you so much." Thank you Adam so much. When a nine year-old child remembers to express gratitude, I get to be gratified in knowing that we are doing something right.Hippo Birdie Two Ewe Adam James Hooten. We love you with all our hearts and can't wait to celebrate many, many more with you.
What's your favorite color? Aquamarine
Who's your best friend? Cole Barton
What's your favorite food? Stuffed Artichokes
Where is your favorite place? Monkey Island (Bouncing place)
What is your favorite holiday? My birthday
What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
What is your favorite song? Largo by Ludwig Von Beethoven (bear in mind he recently learned to play this on the piano).
.::His future according to his 9 year old self::.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A video game designer
If you could be anything, what would you be? A video game designer or a video game championHow old do you want to be when you get married? I don't know. Around my 20s.
Do you want to be a dad? Yeah
What kind of dad do you think you will be? A good one who will be nice to my children.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Sonic
What makes you most happy? Spending time with my grandpa. I like watching soccer with him. (I told this to my dad. He said that Adam was going to make a great politician some day.)
