Gavin's 8th Birthday

8 is officially the age your little guy isn't a little guy anymore.  It feels so much older, he's so much larger, his words are so much more mature.  When did this happen?  As much as we love to see the kids grow, and change and mature - this one just seemed way different than all the others.  Gavin is quite the young man always setting an example for others, often helping those in need, and definitely looking for ways to earn respect and gain responsibility from adults.  I suppose those are some typical characteristics of a first-born.  But he does them very well.

And then we can't forget that he is just 8, and a boy.  So what kind of cake did he request for his birthday?  POOP CAKE!  A poop-emoji.  Boys will be boys.  He loves reading more than you could ever imagine; and his favorites right now are Captain Underpants (which we had to temporarily ban from the house due to the potty talk), Dog Man, and Harry Potter.  He also excels at math and spelling in school.

The Stats

Gavin grew so much this summer.  He was our little-big boy before we left for Colorado, and then school started and he was this giant kid!  His 2nd grade teacher is a tad on the small side, if he grows like he did this summer he may be as tall as her before the school year is up (see photo). As it is he already comes up to Barb's armpit - YIKES!  And as always his character remains the same: kindhearted, funny, sincere, a wonderful leader, and a very caring and loving boy to all who know him.  He has a 6th sense for those in need of a hug, a smile, or a joke - as his parents we're always learning from him!  He makes us all better people.

Height 51.5" = 77%

Weight 65 lbs = 69%

First Day of First Grade

Yes there are a lot of kids out there that love school, but Gavin might take the cake!  He LOVES school.  Of course if you ask him he will say that PE, recess, and lunch are his favorite subjects.  He might take after mom, school = social awesomeness! 

His teacher this year is Mrs. Downing.  He has been very disappointed that he didn't get to have Mrs. Kufeldt (Kindergarten teacher) again.  A few days in now and I think he's adjusting just fine.  Of course there isn't a sole we haven't crossed paths with that Gavin doesn't like.

Happy First Grade kiddo!  Hope it's a great one, we know it will be.

G-man's 7th Birthday Party

Traditionally we have birthday dinner and dessert of the birthday person's choice.  On your 6th, 12th, and 18th birthday you get the "party" of your choice.  Last year Gavin had the Lego extravaganza and loved every minute of it.

As the summer got hotter and hotter thinking about having  dinner with the oven, stoves, people, etc. in the house just didn't sound appealing this year.  So rather than dinner we skipped right to Gavin's favorite thing - DESSERT!  Sure we had the traditional cake of choice for the family, but we also had a Hawaiian ice truck to help celebrate with the neighborhood and attempt to stay cool. 

All you can eat frozen ice and pure sugar syrup...does it get any better?  We topped that off with a 500 balloon water balloon fight.  Great day bud, glad we got to celebrate another wonderful year of life with you!

The stats!

Little man isn't so little anymore.  So handsome, so funny, and the biggest heart of any human I've ever met.  Love watching him grow and becoming an even better human every day.  He makes us all better people by being in our lives.

STATS
Weight 58 pounds
Height 48.4 inches
Head - really big, because he's really smart :)

He's most excited that he doesn't have to get another shot until he's 11 years old.  It's the simple things in life.

First day of 2015 school

A lot of firsts in the Hendricks house...

Liam...first day of being the BIG BROTHER at preschool.  Liam attends 2 full days a week.  On Tuesdays he gets one-on-one time with Grandma.

Lola...first day of Kids Day out.  She's attending one full day a week.  Didn't bat an eye, walked right in and started making friends and pleasing the teachers.

 Gavin...first day of Kindergarten at Cedar Creek Elementary.  I'm not sure there are any kids in America more excited than this guy to start school.  He lucked out and has some good buddies in his class.  We can't wait to see what great things this guy does in his first year.

Our little munchkins with a lot of new adventures on the horizon for the 2015-2016 school year.