Happy 11th birthday, Pete!
Pete and his cookie cake in front of birthday gifts on the mantle
Moms are so funny, we make over the top comments like, “Eleven years ago today I ushered greatness into the world with the birth of my firstborn!” It’s a testament to the gravity of parenthood, really. A mission field, a battle, and a blessing all at once. So yes, this day eleven years ago I became a mother. And yes, my kid is amazing.
Pete’s amazingness is magnified by the loss of his Noni, my mom, just a couple short weeks ago, which makes this birthday extra tender. He is brilliant, just like she was. Skilled at chess and geography and math, just like his Noni. So of course we feel the loss of her, and at the same time, we feel her extraordinary will to live and vibrant spirit to remind us to celebrate and live out this day to its fullest.
If you know our sweet Pete you know he enjoys video games, like most kids, but also loves to yo-yo and solve Rubix cubes. He plays soccer, basketball, baseball and wishes he played every other sport too! My favorite thing about him is his curiosity, he asks every question that comes to his mind and we do a lot of talking about all things. His curiosity also makes him interested in traveling and going on adventures with his family, which we all love.
This age is special because Pete is still young enough to enjoy hanging out with us, but old enough to see things through the eyes of others and understand the world around him. He is thoughtful and caring and (usually) a very loving big brother! He’s also the first one to offer any of us a hug when we’re having a rough day.
Pete has never liked balloons, he always says “It’s sad when they deflate so why have them to begin with?” Up to age 10 he went along with my birthday balloon shenanigans. This year I replaced the balloons with my lovely, recently-gifted daffodils (thank you, Katie!) and didn’t miss those balloons…too much ;)
For his cake, Pete requested a chocolate chip cookie cake without frosting, which left little room for typical cake decorating. Georgia and I visited a local nostalgia-and-novelty shop (Vera’s for my local friends) and decided to decorate the cake with actual trinkets Pete would like to play with later. We found an old school Imperial yo-yo and a Rubix cube that’s actually a candy cube, with treats inside. Just before we headed to the register, Georgia spotted a wall of finger puppets. Chicken feet, miniature hands, chipmunk tails…cat paws? She immediately envisioned sticking them on the cake and I knew we needed two to complete “the look.” Somehow, it was perfect. And since we don’t have cats and cats don’t yo-yo or Rubix cube, I still don’t know how or why it was perfect—but it WORKED :)
Every year we intentionally withhold some of our children’s birthday plans to ensure that element of surprise. They love this. In years past we surprised Pete with tickets to Monster Truck night, to a weekend in Frankenmuth at Bavarian Inn—this year we surprised him with a Detroit Pistons game and he really didn’t see it coming! He went to his usual piano lesson after school, opened up one of his gifts which happened to be a Pistons shirt, then proceeded to fall asleep in the car on the drive to “a surprise dinner.” When it was time to wake up and walk into Little Caesar’s Arena, he was stunned. His big blue eyes sparkled and he was at the edge of his seat the entire game. Sweet sweet memories, indeed. <3
We just love that kid to bits. Happy happy birthday, P!
Pete’s crazy cookie cake
Georgia gifted Pete this PetSimulator red fox. <3
Pete’s photo of the cake accompanied by Georgia’s latest “Sea Creatures” painting.