We started Monday morning with birthday pancakes. Josh has never been accused of being a morning person.
I barely got him to let me take a picture.
Me: No picture, no pancakes.
Josh: FINE.
He woke up to find a new bike - something any 10 year old boy would be excited to find, right? Especially when they actually chose the bike? Yeah, no, he decided he didn't want the bike anymore. I decided I didn't like his attitude anymore, but instead of saying that just said "Well, sorry. We'll just give the bike to Cole then." He then liked the bike.
That day I pulled him out of school to have lunch with Lance and I. He chose Subway and I think he really enjoyed the attention. It's fun and something of a rare treat to see one of our kids one-on-one. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of us there!
That afternoon he tried to learn how to ride the bike. He didn't want me to help but he did and then I couldn't do anything right and IT WAS ALL MY FAULT. Much weeping and wailing. Oh, and he decided he didn't want a birthday dinner out. I told him that was not negotiable because in this family, Mom doesn't cook on birthdays. (And never will. Even when they move out. It's my thing.) He persisted. NO ONE WOULD EAT DINNER. I told him that would not go over well, and suggested he go downstairs to cool off and think things over.
He cooled off. He thought things over. He still didn't want to go out. Fine. I told him I'd just choose. No way! Then he decided he'd let us all vote. Then he decided he didn't want us to vote, he'd just choose Noodles & Company, which was fine with the rest of us. Could've done without the drama and whining, though!
We got home and he got to open a few more presents. (He had opened one that morning that had a new "cool" hoodie.) ((I obviously don't know cool, but he does and chose that hoodie at Target.)) He didn't get too much else because: bike. Which he didn't seem to get, but that's more a kid thing than a Josh thing, right?
He got some of his favorite gum.
And some Mad Libs he said he wanted.
And a new playground ball. Which he had held, one week before, while we were at Target and declared "I would love this ball! I would take it to school to use at recess!" Yes, look at that face. That is the face he makes for pretty much ANY PRESENT EVER. First he hates it. Then he whines about it. Then he leaves it alone, and then he loves it. Christmas morning is a joy. (He has taken the ball the school every day since and declared it Awesome.) This whole gift thing is getting easier to get used to; I expect it now and know the drill. Still doesn't make it any fun.
Grandpa ElRay and Grandma Susie provided the bike helmet. They're so awesome!
That night he learned how to ride the bike. He still has issues getting on and off, but he's getting better. Life wasn't so bad.
Fast forward to last night. See, this year was a friend party year for Josh. Only, he didn't really want to invite any friends to a party. Well, that's not right. He had grand party plans in his mind but only wanted to invite like 3 kids. I explained to him that I was not willing to go to all the work, effort, and expense of one of my awesome parties if he was only inviting 3 kids. It wasn't worth it. So we negotiated, and instead of a big friend party he had 4 friends come over for a sleepover.
Josh also does not like to make choices right now. It is seriously like pulling teeth. Oh, he has very definite opinions about things, but he won't tell you about them until after it's too late. It drives me nuts.
Anywho, after asking and asking and asking about what the invitation should look like, I made this one:
To my surprise he didn't want many changes. Then we moved on to dessert. I gave him lots of options. He didn't like them. I asked him for ideas. He didn't want to give any. Finally, I told him if he didn't tell me before I went to the grocery store I would just make and buy whatever I wanted. He finally deigned to tell me that he wanted M&M Snickerdoodle Bars. So I made those.
They were delicious - the boys ate all of them! (They should be - they have a ton of sugar and butter.)
The friends he invited were all a bit older than him - 11 and 12 years old. I was a little worried about this, but he seemed to have a grand time with them. I think he just really, really wishes he were older. The funny thing is, he and Spencer have really been having issues lately, but then Josh invited boys over who are just like Spencer in that middle school sort of way. Fine line between love and hate and all that.
So his friends made it over and we were all off to Get Air, a local trampoline park. I think they all had a really great time. No one would hold still for pictures!
Tess felt sad she had to play by herself in the 46" and shorter area. Poor kiddo - she's a shrimp. I'm seriously wondering if she's just gonna be a shorty for the rest of her life.
They played dodge ball for quite a while.
And then there was a dance contest! Two of the boys one free passes for their dancing, Tess won a pass because she's so dang cute, and Josh got one because it was his birthday.
After Get Air we feasted on Little Ceasar's pizza. I didn't notice this while taking the pictures, but Cole and Tess progressively steal the show in each one!
Josh finally got to blow out candles and open presents.
It was very exciting!
Apparently this was a very funny inside joke between him and his bff Justin. (a.k.a. Justin Madsen)
That night they played outside with flashlights, played computer games, watched movies, and generally made a racket until midnight when I finally told them it was time for lights out. It took them another 20 minutes to calm down. And then they were up at 6:30am, making more racket! Good heavens, boys are noisy! But, they were all very well behaved and good to have over. Josh chooses good friends. Josh says he had a great time and even thanked me for letting him have a sleepover, so I guess it was worth it!
Oh Josh. What to say about you and your ripe old age of 10?
Josh is going through this phase right now where he won't answer questions. You can be looking directly into his eyes, ask him a question, and he'll just glaze over and then startle and get very offended when you raise your voice.
This is all an act.
Which makes it very hard to have patience.
He's also going through that preteen boy drama phase: very little patience, extreme moodiness, extreme emotions all over the place, crying over little things, and generally just hard to live with. (Spencer went through the same thing. It's a party over here!)
This, too, makes it hard to have patience.
That said, Josh can also be a really awesome kid. Like, Super Awesome. He has this great sense of humor that I just love. He'll often play with Tess and Cole, which makes him a superhero in their eyes. He can be a great helper when he wants to be, and can be really quite responsible when it comes to school and such. Josh is a really good friend, both loyal and kind and always ready for adventure. He's good at art, even though he's trying to hide that talent right now. He can be great at doing chores, when he wants to. (Ha!) And when things are important he knows what to do and how to behave.
What I'm saying is, he's just a really great kid. And although he's going through a bit of a rough patch phase-wise right now, I am just so, so glad he's mine.
I sure love you, Joshie!
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