how can it be?

I really can't believe it...Connor turned NINE today! I think I must be getting old. How can I possibly have a nine year old? I cannot believe how quickly the years have passed. He went from being the first grandbaby on both sides (spoiled rotten I might add) to being a nine year old with six cousins and one more cousin on the way. What a difference nine years makes.

I have been thinking a lot about Connor lately and thinking about things that make him, well him. When Connor has a passion about something he takes it to the extreme. Two years ago his life was absorbed with real estate. Yes, at the ripe old age of seven he wanted to be a real estate agent. Everything in his life revolved around real estate. He would always have a current issue of the local real estate magazine in hand, always wanted to look at open houses and shocked one real estate agent by commenting that one house had an australian closet (seriously why would a seven year old know or even care about what kind of closet a house has?). He tuned into the real estate channel daily and had every property memorized and would know immediately if a home price had been reduced from the last time he watched. This real estate infatuation lasted for about six months. Then he moved onto....

Baseball...he became enthralled with baseball next. Everything became about baseball. He wanted to have us throw balls so he could practice batting or throw balls all different ways so he could practice all forms of catching. He constantly had a glove and ball in his hand as he walked through the house. He was constantly throwing a ball up in the air and catching it. The tv was tuned into baseball...all the time! He still loves baseball but is not all consumed by it anymore. Now he's added reading and golf to the mix.

All this to say, when Connor is passionate about something he takes it to the extreme. He gives his all...he has heart. That is just one thing that makes Connor...Connor. He is a special little man.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Since Connor doesn't like birthday cake I improvised on a cake recipe I found to come up with his cake. I made a vanilla cake. Then I poked holes in it while it was still hot and poured caramel topping mixed with a can of sweetened evaporated milk over the top (I bought fat free to help offset some of the calories from the rest of the cakes ingredients...as if that helps!). Lastly, I put crushed up Heath candy bars over the top. Yummy! The original recipe called for butterfingers and then a layer of cool whip and this is where I deviated from it as we are not huge fans of cool whip and we just prefer Heath bars...hmmm, I wonder why that is?

Connor got both xbox 360 games he's been wanting. He was so happy! He also got a golf practice range that he was thrilled to get. Not to mention some birthday cash and gift cards and the amazing swing set the boys have been enjoying for the past month. I wonder if our boys know how lucky they are? I know sometimes I am just in awe over the amazingness (is that a word?) of our families and how blessed we truly are. What a great birthday. I think I heard Connor use the word "radical" for the first time ever when describing how cool his new games are. I haven't heard the word radical in years. My first born is growing up right before my very eyes whether I am ready or not.

FYI...all the pics from this post are actually from Friday (the day before his birthday). We celebrated with cake and presents on Friday because we had other plans for his actual b-day which was today. I'll post about it tomorrow or Monday.