Eight

The 24th was Riley's 8th birthday. We celebrated lots over memorial day weekend. Somehow he managed to get a birthday weekend rather than just one day. It was a lot of fun though, for him and us. This birthday brought a first at our house. Riley talked me into hosting a spend-the-night party for him and 4 of his best friends. Except for his cousin, Tyler, all the boys that came were in Kindergarden together. It's cool how 3 of them are now in 2nd grade together and have remained good friends. They were boys and we had to tell them to settle down a time or two, but really they were pretty good. After the movie, they went to Riley's room to sleep on his floor and Lance and I went to bed too. Not sure how late they really stayed up, the next morning they claimed it was 'very' late. I woke up at 4am with Megan and they were all passed out in different spots around the room with the t.v. still on.

The boys all went home about 10am Saturday morning and our family came over at 1pm to celebrate and have lunch with us. More partying, more presents. Riley was eating it all up.

This was the first year when Riley asked for money rather than gifts. I was a little skeptical, thinking he'd miss having gifts to open. He did get a few from his friends but all the family gave him cards with cash. All that cash could only mean one thing for Sunday after church......a shopping trip.

We stopped at several spots before ending up at Target where he spent most of his money. The big purchase of the day was a video/game chair. It's sort of like the video-rockers but with speakers built in behind where your head rests. It'll take an audio feed from your t.v., iPod, DVD player or in Riley's case, his XBox. Besides the chair he bought lots of baseball cards, a nerf gun, a water gun and several Star Wars action figures.

My baby boy is 8 years old. I can't believe he'll be heading to 3rd grade next year. He's grown up so fast! His latest fascination is baseball. After attending a Braves game last week and having the opportunity to play with a great team this season, he is really loving the game. He loves to watch the pro games on t.v. and is really excited about his own games with his team. He loves to play catch in the yard and is always begging for trips to the batting cages. He is excited to be heading to play in a World Series tournament in Panama City this summer. The big time.

I love you, Riley! Happy Birthday big boy!