♥ Travis was anxious to receive his Valentines at school and find out if he had a "secret admirer." He wrote "Love, Travis" on one, just one, little girl's Valentine.
♥ Tyler's class got to watch "It's Valentine's Day Charlie Brown at school & he got a Valentine Gram from a special friend.
♥ Keira talked Daddy into taking her to Wal-Mart & buying her new shoes and a pink bouncy ball.
In my family (The Selph's) no one's birthday is celebrated for less than one week. Some Birthday's {{BRENDA}} have been known to go on for the whole month. This blog entry is dedicated to detailing the fun & festivities surrounding Tyler's 11th Birthday, as they have taken place so far. Since Daddy had to work all weekend, there will be more fun to come later this week.
The fun began on Thursday. What's a Birthday without a new hair-cut? Nothing really, so not long after I got home from work, the kids & I set out to get the boys' hair cut. Here's Tyler mid-cut. Back when his dad was 11 (or 21) this would have been the end of the cut! Ha!
Then we were hungry!
But Travis, was very un-Travis & couldn't pick what to eat. He cried instead.
Sometime after we order I am racked with fear thinking maybe Travis has a nasty stomach bug that I've heard has been going around. I'm thinking how craptastic it's going to be if he chucks in the restaurant. Or on the way home in, Daddy's truck. Well, at least it wasn't mine! We got home without any chuckage & Travis went to bed with no problems. (Turns out, he is getting new molars = CRAZY!)
Then Friday came. While our boys were at school & Daddy was sleeping, Keira and I set out on a mission to find Tyler's present. We hit up Ross & Famous Footwear with no luck. But we struck it big at JCPenney's where we not only found shoes, shirts & pants for Tyler... we also found a coupon for $15 off! Score one for the girls' team shopping powers! Oh, and we actually saw a roach hop out of a woman's bag and onto the floor where she proceeded to stop it & mumble some excuses. Tummy-turning awkwardness.
That night we had an impromptu Birthday meal for Tyler. My Momma, Sisters & Daddy all helped me lay out a feast big enough for an 11 year old. We made meatballs, spaghetti, garlic bread, Cesar salad & green beans. Yum-Yum! We also had a blueberry Jello-cake & sherbet with a round of "Happy Birthday Dear Tyler!" And, what do the Selph/Eastman's do to burn off all that delicious food?
Dance I tell you, Dance!
*Warning, the following video may not be suitable for all audiences. If you are opposed to getting your grove on, or watching others shake what their Mommas gave them, please end your viewing at 01:13. Otherwise: shake it down shake it down, down... shake it down shake it down-now-now!*
Some day, someone will get smart {mean} enough to record me dancing. Until then, I'll continue to kick all their booties off camera and remain an unsung hero. Honestly, I beat them all. Several dance-offs.
Saturday night Brenda & I took Tyler to see "True Grit" at AMC Westgate. Man that was a good movie. If you haven't seen it, you should. There are slower parts where you have to pay attention to follow long conversations, but there is also much humor, gun-slinging fantasmia, and lovable, old & dorky cowboys. Just a great movie. After the movie we went over to Gordon Beirsch for some seriously serious garlic fries and salads. We also saw a DeLorean in the parking lot. I wish I'd thought to go Back to the Future when Tyler was a baby. Instead, I got this poor quality picture:
I desperately need to get a new camera!
On Sunday, Tyler's actual Birthday, we started things out right with Tyler's breakfast of choice: McDonald's. McMuffins were followed by a shopping spree at Super Target where Tyler selected several more items of clothing. His taste is a little eclectic, but you know if anyone can pull off a Shaun White shirt and camo shorts, it's Tyler. {{Or maybe I just let him pick his own clothes to keep the girls away?}} We ended our day with more incredible food & my Dad's Italian Creme Cake while we enjoyed the Superbowl & found a kitty for Brenda & Tristan to adopt. Tyler was the adoption agent and did a fantastic job. He'll miss seeing his kitty friend running around our street, but the kitty has a great home and Tyler will have visits to look forward too.
I'm proud of my boy. He's friends with everyone, even when his friends aren't friends with each other. He works hard in school and always earns much praise from his teachers for being a kind and thoughtful guy. Tyler has turned into quite an animal lover with one dog, a gecko and a goldfish who rely on him for most of their care. His gentle heart has room for more animal friends & he often talks about pets of his future. While Tyler is quite often annoyed beyond belief by his little brother, he is still very protective of him when it counts the most. He dotes on his baby sister with patience.
This time of year I always think back on what it was like for Nathan & I to bring home our first baby. He was so little that even his smallest sleeper was ridiculously large and hung from his feet. We put him on our bed and sat and looked at him for the longest time. He was such a mysterious little creature. Eleven years later, he's not so little but still such a sparkle in our eyes.
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