At 2:47 p.m. he'll be 8

Remember those commercials from a couple of years ago that said at the end, "A baby changes everything"?

There is so very much truth to that statement.

My life was forever changed the minute my Benjamin was born.

just a few days old

And now that he is eight years old I am getting to the point where I cannot remember a life without him in it.

These days he scores goals while playing soccer and reads Harry Potter books with the same voraciousness as his father (and that is saying A LOT).  He surprises us with his silly jokes and his intelligence, which are both things he has done for a long time.

around 6 months old

He is adored by his teachers and friends and he loves to talk about his day at school over dinner (I just love that).  We're still in the stage where he tells me pretty much everything.  Or at least I want to believe that anyway...

2nd b-day party.  Yes, that is "Backpack" from Dora.  He used to LOVE Dora... oh my gosh, I'm in so much trouble for divulging that... 

On any given day I can find him making up his own comic strips and mimicking the characters from the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books or writing his own book.  Once he's done he asks me to "publish" it for him (staple it together, OHMYGOODNESS, so cute!) and we'll read it together.

in his play tent

He has his own wallet now that we brought back for him from our trip to NYC and he loves to keep his money in it and even pay for his own things sometimes.  He earns a small allowance (although I'm pretty bad about keeping up with it regularly) for some chores he helps with around the house and he saves most of the money he gets for birthdays, etc.

he also had a thing for The Wiggles back in the day

His favorite meals that I make are my homemade meatballs with spaghetti and my beef stew.  He also loves fish sticks.  And I still pack his lunch every single day which includes an apple, a juice box or water, a sandwich (either almond butter or turkey) and either goldfish or something else crunchy.  Sometimes I also stick a little treat in there and a note.  He still has a major aversion to cheese, unless it's on pizza.  And yes, I am serious.  The rest of us have NO idea why he doesn't like cheese.  I mean, WHAT? Cheese is goooood...

holding his baby brother

The boy is currently a tad bit obsessed with Legos and especially likes the Lego Heroica games.

Oh and then there was Thomas... 

He also really wants another pet but Dad and I say no for now...

Adventurer at the Dallas Arboretum

We tend to but heads at times but I think it's just because we have very similar personalities and we always make up in the end, of course.

He loves his baby sister

He makes me smile every day at least once and in his laugh is my joy.  As they say in my favorite song from Wicked, "I've been changed for the better..." 

his most favorite stuffy, "Woofy"

Over dinner tonight I told him that he would not officially be 8 years old until 2:47 p.m., the same time he was born.

He wasn't going for it.

While tucking him into bed I said the last "Goodnight" to my 7 year old.

Time surely does have wings that fly fast...

Happy Birthday my sweet, handsome, smart, awesome son and big brother, Benja Wenja.

Love you always,

Mom
(yeah, not "Mommy", but "Mom", gah)