Two-Digit Numbers

The boy is 10 now.  It's hard to believe that it's been an entire decade since he was a screaming bundle of joy.

He's not much of a bundle any more, but the screaming and the joy have not subsided.

Question:  What happens when you put eight boys between the ages of ages 6 and 11 in a game room?

Answer:  You don't want to know.  But from what I understand, it involves lots of flatulence... and fart jokes... and gas... you get the idea.

We let M1 have a birthday party this year.  This is the first year he's really had a lot of friends right around his age (and a couple of siblings) that he wanted to invite to a party, and I couldn't very well tell him no.  He picked a Plants Vs. Zombies theme, and he had a great time.

His friends rocked his world when it came to gifts.  He scored everything from Pokemon cards to a fishing pole and tackle.  After the party, we let a couple of the boys spend the night.  

You can take the boys out of the party...

But you can't take the party out of the boys.  I was rather impressed, though... they were all asleep by 10:30!  Quietest.  Sleepover.  EVER.

I'm quite sure that when M2's birthday rolls around in a few months, that will not be the case.  She's already been promised a mega-sleepover party and has already begun preparing her invitation list.

Back to the boy.  The party was held the weekend before his birthday, and since Mama is a good old-fashioned slacker when it comes to getting gift bags and birthday-themed wrapping paper, he didn't have a single thing to unwrap on his birthday.  No sirree.  Instead, I made him go on a scavenger hunt.  He thought it was great!

He scored new slippers, a book of banjo chords, a book of magic tricks and illusions, a cookbook (yes, he loves cookbooks and I found a series that shows every step with a photo... perfect for my boy!), new shelves for his room, and a digital camera.

Then M2 gave him the gift she'd gotten him:

He'd been jonesing for this particular ant farm for a while, and M2 knew it.  She's a great sister.

Overall, he had a great fantastic birthday, and what surprised me was that the party wasn't his favorite part!  He loved his actual birthday more, even though we didn't do anything special; in fact, he had to go to swim team practice.  He's an introvert who occasionally can handle a party.

I'm now officially the mom of a pre-teen.  What an odd feeling.  I'm theoretically more than halfway done raising this child.  Someone slow time down, please!