Feliz Cumpleanos, Kendall!

He is now 9 years old! I thought he may get up early this morning but he slept in. I made sure I was ready and the car was packed for his afternoon fiesta before I woke him at 7am. I had him get washed up, dressed and teeth brushed before he opened all his regalos. I had hidden all of his presents as they came in so they would be a surprise. I set the presents in guest room so he wouldn't know my hiding place :-). There is a video of him opening presents below. His favorites were the scooter, skateboard, pirate flag, money and spirograph from Kevin, Eduardo, Kattya and Luis Diego. We opened all of the cards in the evening before he went to bed.

We went to the 8am church service. He was very good in church and tried to sing more songs today. He was also the only child for the children's sermon and he did a great job when he went up to talk to the Pastor in front of the whole congregation. He announced that it was his happy birthday and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him!

We went to Wegmans to pick up his cake. They did a fabulous job for an unbelievable price. The cake was marble inside with a chocolate buttercream filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. It was decorated as Jungle Buddies and before we served it we added Superman and the number 9. I have a photo below. We went to the Dollar Tree for 3 Mylar ballons then headed home. Kendall wanted to play with his new toys.

Kendall was very excited since this is his first birthday party solito. About 12:15pm we headed to the YMCA pool with a quick stop for ice. While I set up with the YMCA ladies, Megan and Lisa, Kendall went in the pool. We had 4 tables with lots of ballons and a Happy Birthday sign. It was overcast and windy but once the party started, everyone was in the pool or making water balloons. The YMCA had a special spigot for the water balloons and I bought a special hand pump everyone used as well. It was a water ballon lollapalooza :-). After about an hour the wind picked up and it poured (and I mean it poured!). We would have gotten soaked moving everything so we stayed outside for cake and soda. After the party, Kendall swam in the indoor YMCA pool until 4:30pm. He has greatly improved with his floating, diving and swimming and he asked me to video him so there are some videos below. He told me it was a cool fiesta but not a muy cool fiesta because of the rain.

We went to Burger King for his corona and kid's meal. I get one also so he ended up with 2 toys. At home, I cleaned up a bit and set up for tomorrow. Kendall helped a bit since he wanted me to work on his bike tightening all the bolts and screws and adding a new light and bell from the Abuelos. It was still overcast and thundering a bit so he rode his bike just in our cul-de-sac. Later in the evening, we talked and thanked the Abuelos and they sang to him and he sang to them.

Just before bed, I gave Kendall his final gift - a special book called On the Night You Were Born By Nancy Tillman along with an On the Night You Were Born Polar Bear that was extra soft. A good friend from work, Laura Leon, translated the English to Spanish for me - muchas gracias! The English words are below and we cuddled, spoke his magical name and he made the polar bear dance while I read him the book in Spanish. I bought a recordable book so he can see the words in English and hear my voice say the words in Spanish. This will be our birthday tradition. There were a lot of 'I love you's' tonight.

On the Night You Were Born (Escritor Nancy Tillman)
En la Noche Que Nacistes

Kendall - Usted esta temeroso y maravillosamente… Salmos ciento treinta y nueve
You are fearfully and wonderfully made…Psalms 139

On the night you were born,
En la Noche Que Nacistes,

The moon smiled with such wonder
La luna sonrio can tal maravilla

That the stars peeked in to see you
y la estrellas se asomaron a verte

And the night wind whispered,
Y el veinto de la noche te dijo

“Life will never be the same.”
“La vida nunca sera la misma.”

Because there had never been anyone like you…ever in the world.
Porque nunca abido nadie como tu… nunca en el mundo

So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain
Estaban tan encantados el viento y la lluvia

That they whispered the sound of your wonderful name.
Que susurraron el sonido de tu maravilloso nombre.

It sailed through the farmland
Y navego entre las tierras de cultivo

High on the breeze…
En lo alto del la brisa…

Over the ocean…
Sobre el oceano..

And through the trees…
y a traves de los arboles…

Until everyone heard it
Hasta que todo el mundo lo eschucho

And everyone knew
Y todo el mundo sabia

Of the one and only ever you.
de ti, y unicamente de ti

Not once had there been such eyes,
Nunca jama an existido tus ojos,

Such a nose,
Tu nariz,

Such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.
tus curiosos deditos de los pies

When the polar bears heard,
Cuando los osos polares lo escucharon

They danced until dawn.
Ellos bailaron hasta el amanecer.

From faraway places,
Desde lugares lejanos

The geese flew home.
Los gansos volaron a casa.

The moon stayed up until
Y la luna sigio despierta hasta

Morning next day.
El siguiente dia en la manana.

And none of the ladybugs flew away.
Y ninguna de las mariquitas volaron

So whenever you doubt just how special you are
Entonces cuando ti dedes de los especial que eres

And you wonder who loves you, how much and how far,
Y te preguntes quien te ama, cuanto y en que medida,

Listen for geese honking high in the sky.
Eschucha los gansos graznando en lo alto del cielo.

(They’re singing a song to remember you by.)
(Te estan cantando una cancion que les requerda a ti.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.
O notes ques los osos esten dormiendo en el zoologico.

(It’s because they’ve been dancing all night for you!)
(Es porque ellos estubieron bailando todo la noche para ti!)

Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind.
O te quedes dormido al sonido del viento.

(Listen closely…it’s whispering your name again!)
(Escuha fuertemente… El viento esta susurrando to nombre otraves!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,
Si la luna se queda despierta hasta la manana de un nuevo dia,

Or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,
O las mariquitas aterrizan y deciden quedarse,

Or a little bird sits at your window awhile,
O un pajarito se siento en tu ventana un ratito

It’s because they’re all hoping to see you smile…
Es porque estan esperanzados en verte sonrier…

For never before in story or rhyme
Ya que nunca antes en las historia o rima

(not even once upon a time)
(ni siquiera una vez en un tiempo)

Has the world ever known a you, my friend,
El mundo te ha conocido, amigo,

And it never will, not ever again…
Y nunca jamas lo ara, nunca mas…

Heaven blew every trumpet
Los cielos soplaron las trompetas

And played every horn
Y tocaron cada cuerno

On the wonderful, marvelous
En el asombroso, maravilloso

Night you were born.
Noche en que nacistes.

Thank you to everyone that sent a card, gift, Facebook message, thought of us, prayed for us or were involved with or in his party and celebration of Kendall's birthday and making it even more special.

Buenas noches!