Caleb's 9th Birthday

Big Brother leading the way

May the force be with you

Star Wars birthday cake

Still a Packers fan

The best oldest brother

Well it has only been a month since Caleb's birthday!  For his birthday meal he chose lasagna.  What happened to just asking for pizza?  He is starting to have discriminating tastes!  He wanted a Yoda birthday cake which turned out well.  Nate helped with the light saber on the cake, pretty clever.  Caleb received a Star Wars spaceship from the DeMaster grandparents and a Star Wars action figure from the Jongsma grandparents.  We gave him a light saber (we could not find a blue one like he wanted, apparently they are hard to come by!) and some football cards.  This is the year of Star Wars. 

How to describe our 9 year old?  He is still at the top of the growth chart and is very healthy.  Caleb jumps into a sport and does well.  He enjoyed trying basketball this year, baseball, and doing swimming lessons and soccer again.  His current soccer coach says Caleb is a natural leader on the field and has him playing midfield fairly often- lots of running!  We love watching the enjoyment Caleb has when playing sports.  He has gained so much confidence over the years.  Caleb is a wonderful older brother.  He and Isaac are best friends and get along so well.  Caleb and Julia don't have alot in common, but he includes her when he can and uses patience.  Caleb has fun with Stephen.  He helps entertain him and keeps him out of trouble.  Caleb has always done well with babies.  We are also impressed with how Caleb welcomes foster kids into our home.  He makes an effort to speak Spanish with them, share his toys and include them in activities.  God has given Caleb a compassionate heart.  Caleb is in 3rd grade now and it presents new challenges.  He is being stretched and grown in new ways and we are proud of his efforts.  Nate is teaching Caleb piano lessons.  Caleb often gets frustrated, but he picks it up fairly well.

We are thankful for another year with Caleb and can't wait to see what God has in store for him this year!  Happy Birthday bud!