Josh turns 9

Getting ready to open his present that he already knew what it was.

The boys are already hard at work putting Benny's spaceship together

All that Josh wanted for his birthday this year was Legos and he chose to get one big set and have us use all our budget on that one set. He was so happy to get his Benny's Spaceship, it's from the Lego movie. They have collected most of the entire collection of that line. This boy is obsessed with Legos. He plays with them all day and even at bedtime when it's supposed to be lights out. Legos are all over in the car and every room in the apartment. He is working on becoming a master builder.

That is his super cheesy happy face. Not my greatest cake but it tasted great.

Getting some attitude from him

A super excited-giddy boy

I wanna eat this right now face

In the process of blowing the candle out. 

And this is how Josh eats all the time. He likes to use his hands. He's a messy eater. 

It was a quiet birthday celebration for us on his actual birthday. It was just mom, Nate, Colton and Audrey that celebrated with him. However, he did get a birthday celebration when we were in Utah. I'm not sure if I got any pictures of his birthday up there. And if I did then it's on Nate's camera and we can't find his usb cable. He got to pick his dinner, which he chose fish sticks and  macaroni and cheese. Not the most appealing of dinners to me but that's what he chose and he loved it. In Utah he chose hamburgers and instead of a cake he chose homemade donuts. That was a much better meal.  He has kind of a picky palate. He loves corn on the cob but refuses to eat cut off corn, doesn't like peas, carrots, broccoli, basically most vegetables besides green beans. And only if the green beans have been from Grandpas garden. If they are store bought he won't eat them. And as far as fruit goes, he'll do bananas and strawberries dipped in sugar and apples that are peeled and sliced. That's it. He doesn't like fruit either. It's kind of ridiculous. But he loves meats and macaroni and cheese.

He has grown a lot academically this year in 3rd grade. His reading has improved several levels and his math skills are really good. His teacher calls him her little sweat heart and cutie. I'm glad he's so good at school because at home he's kind of a teaser and is mischievous. He loves to torment his siblings. He just likes to say things to get them riled up, he's mostly just full of harmless chatter.And really, I shouldn't be surprised how loud this kid can be. It started from birth of him being loud and crying a lot when he wasn't getting his way. On a side note, he hated being in the car seat and cried most of the time when we moved from California to Utah and that was a two day trip. He only  stopped when he was absolutely exhausted from his crying and fell asleep. Another time he cried the entire two/three hour drive up to Bear Lake Idaho.He likes to be heard.  

He's looking forward to moving to Alaska for all the snow. He's way excited that we'll have lots of snow to play in. He also needs some space to be outside and explore. Being crammed into a two bedroom apartment has not been easy for Josh. He loves the outdoors and wants to be outside. But Mom is too nervous of all the unknown people living in the complex to let them be outside for long. Plus there really is not a good place for them to play. It's gonna be so good to have a yard again especially for him.

Josh is a good boy. He is full of himself right now. But I figure it's all a stage. We are glad that we have him in our home. There are so many times when I see his father in him, it's kind of scary. He really should've been name Joshua Scott Fritz after Daniel Scott Fritz Jr instead of Joshua Riley Fritz. And despite all his comments and obnoxious behaviour, he's a really sweet kid that does like to give his mom hugs not and then.