8 Years and Counting.....

On 23rd August, our sweet Joey turns eight!  Our little serious, sensitive, eccentric, fluffy, goofball of a boy is entering the 'aware zone'.  And by this, I mean, the layers of innocence that come with the first seven years of little lives, are slowly peeling away.  From experience, every year now that passes, we will see more of the 'grown up' in him shining through.  He's going to be more aware of other people and his surroundings and what it means to exist in this world.  So bittersweet, watching the transitions of your child, as their last baby characteristics fall away.

Already things are changing.  No more big kisses goodbye in the school carpark, no more wiping the crumbs from his face in front of his friends, no more "have a nice day - I LOVE you" as he waves goodbye.  Now its just a quick hug, a straightening of his collar and whispered 'love you sweetheart' under my breath and I watch him walk away......

Things are changing for my Joe-Boy but it's comforting to know that deep down he's still the sensitive, sweet, loving little boy who was placed in my arms almost 8yrs ago.

No time to think about it yesterday, no time to be nostalgic and sad about the years rolling by, it was PARTY TIME!!

We kicked off with a treasure hunt, which had kids flying all around the park in a big screaming mass, trying to find clues...

Followed closely by the 'Doughnut eating competition'.  The funniest thing was looking back at the photographs that I'd taken and seeing, along with our huge line of party friends,  about 5 'unidentifiable' kids all chowing down on doughnuts, and nobody having a clue who they were, or where they came from...

Next was a spot of lunch...yum yum...

The 'tidy up your room game' that had various pairs of socks flying around the park...

The one request from Joey, was a Pinata (but not a donkey one please).  A nice toothy shark seemed to do the job...

The two hours passed in one big birthday blur, which I'm guessing is a good thing..

Even the ridiculously unprofessional, huge comical cupcake seemed to go down a treat!  And I swore that pictures of this monstrosity would not make it to my blog, as I was icing it...

The present opening was a very serious affair, but the cards were the sweetest things.  Seems like, eight year olds love spending time drawing 'best buddy' pictures inside them, along with captions and arrows pointing out who is who....love it!

If I close my eyes, I can still see that small little person, staring back at me, with my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my features, but all of his Daddy's expressions wrapped up in a white blanket, all tiny and new.   I'm so proud of the little boy that he's already become.  I won't will the years away to try and peek into the future, I'm planning on savouring each and every moment of this little man. 
Joe-Boe, Joey-Boy, Joe Boe Belly-O Big bum Billy-O, Joseph David Gene Detroy Wood, BoBo, or just plain old Joey Wood....Which ever way you say it, it all sounds pretty wonderful to me....Happy Birthday lovely Boy!