charlie turned 9!

can't believe our lil' (big) Charlie is NINE!!!

jack helped me decorate after the kids went to bed. prepping for a birthday the day after Christmas is seriously exhausting lol! glad jack helped me make a few things for chuck's cake and he also transformed the Christmas tree into a Charlie tree, complete with a Charlie star at the top!

Ellie picked out this card for Charlie knowing he'd love it because of the pug. she slipped a $2 bill inside because she also knows that Charlie loves anything that is "rare". sure enough, when he opened that card and saw the bill he said "WHOA! these are SUPER RARE!"

to pass the time before dad got homeroom work, we went to the brand new trampoline park! we weren't sure if two hours would be enough but boy, that was exhausting! in fact, the kids were super sore the next day, especially their abs and backs.

there are a ton of regular tramps, several foam pits, an ninja warrior course, a couple dodgeball areas, and a wipeout area.

the wipeout area is fun because someone controls the speed, can stop it, and even reverse the direction very quickly... it can really trick the jumpers!

Charlie's reaction to gifts is always the best!

we sure love our Chuck. he is so special. even though he knows how to drive his siblings crazy at times and can be more stubborn than anyone we know, he is also the most tender kid. I went to a parent teacher conference on Monday (feb 10th) and he is excelling at school. we have been a bit worried- not really knowing what's going on in his head right now due to the seizures and medications, but he is doing very well academically currently. his math skills are top of the class, which we weren't too surprised by because he's always had a thing for numbers. reading we were a little unsure of because he's not interested in chapter books (curse you graphic novels and I spy books!!!). but he's reading at a 4th grade level and did fantastic on his state tests in December. we are so pleased that he's kept up so well at school. here's to a fantastic year ahead for this 9 year old!