Happy Number Nine
Greetings to everyone, and Happy Birthday, Xavier!
Yes, Xavier turns nine years old today, Friday the thirteenth. We celebrated as a family last night, however.
Rebecca headed to Wyoming this morning for drill and is away all weekend, so we wanted to have a small party before she left town. The big, noisy, super-cake, lots of kids party will be next Saturday.
Rebecca has not fully completed the "super-cake," but we wanted to have a cake for last night. I hit Whole Foods in the afternoon. I am always dubious about their cakes due to my first experience with them on Xavier's first birthday; the cake was disgusting, though it did serve its purpose of allowing for a wonderful mess.
I hit another store and picked up some wrapping paper and a numeral nine candle for the cake. The wrapping paper was for Rebecca's and my gift to Xavier. Also, another reason to celebrate while Rebecca was in town so she could watch him open our gift in person.
Last month, we dined out at Las Dalias Mexican Restaurant. The wait staff there adore Xavier and doted on him the entire time we are there. He had several lipstick kisses on his cheek and forehead before we paid the bill and went home. When they learned his birthday was in a few weeks, the told him to come back on his birthday and they would have something special for him.
After the usual doting on Xavier, one of the waitresses conferred with Rebecca while I distracted Xavier. After supper, they presented Xavier with three sopapilla drizzled with chocolate and raspberry and dabbed with generous amounts of cream. Xavier pressed me to make sure I tipped the ladies well, and he thanked them for their attentions.
After stuffing ourselves (and tipping well), we drove home to cake and presents!
Xavier did not expect a cake; he still waited for Mom's super cake to be finished.
Whole Foods had a vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles of reasonable size for a reasonable cost. Rebecca pushed in the "Numeral Nine" candle and Xavier lit it. We sang "Happy Birthday", then Xavier had to suffer the wait of us cutting the cake and eating a slice.
He wanted to start ripping into presents and forsook his plate of confectionery delight.
He had two gifts ready to go. The first from his Aunt Kathy. A Timex watch. Now he has four wristwatches; he has no excuse for being late anywhere.
The second present (from mom and dad) he has been expecting for more than five months. He wanted us to buy it for him in January after he found it on Amazon.com.
"You have Christmas presents that are still new," we told him. Still, he pestered us. In February he informed us that the price had dropped ten dollars and we should get it now before the price went up again. I don't think a week passed that he did not mention the Battleship toy at least once.
Instead of a shower, he spent the rest of the evening (long past his bedtime—and on a school night) playing with the Battleship and all that came with it.
I set his watch and he wore it to school today.