8 Great Things About Thirdborn (who turned 8).

(This kids forgave me for forgetting to bring cupcakes to his class for his birthday. In my defense, I was trying to get ready for his birthday party. Thirdborn publicly forgave me before I could ask him to. I'm not including this in the 8 Great Things, but I wanted you all to know just how sweet that was.)

1. Thirdborn is very creative. He is constantly making up stories and plays. He loves to invent things and will often show me drawings or creations he made with toys.

2. Thirdborn is very sensitive. He will find the new kid in class, the boy without anyone to play with, or search out someone who is having a bad day. Thirdborn will then do everything he can to make things better.

3. Thirdborn is a great friend. He constantly thinks about what he can do for others.

4. Thirdborn is an explorer. He loves to try new foods and learn about new cultures.

5. Thirdborn wants to work for the FBI when he grows up. He has a sense of right and wrong and had decided that making the world a better place involves catching the bad guys.

6. Thirdborn is a great big brother. He constantly looks out for The Love Magnet and helps her whenever he can. He reads to her almost every night.

7. Thirdborn loves to cook (hooray!) and wants to help in the kitchen. He is so excited: one of the great things about turning 8 in our house is that he will now learn how to cook spaghetti from scratch. That includes making your own sauce. No recipes allowed. Once he masters that he will move on to other meals...again no recipes allowed. (Yes, I do teach the boys to read recipes, but I think that everyone needs to know how to do a week's worth of meals without relying on recipes.)

8. Thirdborn is SO EXCITED to be baptized this week. He had a great interview with our bishop and gave his answers to Bishop's questions without hesitation. He is prepared to choose the right.