Zach turns nine

Zach was looking forward to his birthday for weeks. 

With four kids and two of them having birthdays in December, we can't do parties every year, so the kids really only get parties every other year.  This year was not Zach's year.

But still... He was excited.

At nine years old I am sure you can guess what he was excited about.  The presents.

He had a plan.  He's obsessed with Legos these days, especially Harry Potter Legos, and he really, really wanted the Lego set of Diagon Alley.  Unfortunately that set was out of everyone's price range, so he asked for money for his birthday from everyone and he could purchase it himself. 

And after he added up his birthday money and the money he had saved, he had enough to purchase the Hogwarts Express set as well. 

And every day for the weeks leading up to his birthday he would get online and look at the Lego sets.  And we would have to stop by the toy department of Target whenever he came with me so he could check out different sets.   And he would talk about it ALL THE TIME. 

"I'm just so excited for my birthday!  I can't wait to get Diagon Alley!"

At one point, after listening to this for several weeks, I looked at him and with a totally serious face said, "Really?  I had no idea you were so excited."  To which his reply was a very exasperated "But mom,  I talk about it every day!"

Despite being low-key, I think he still had a good birthday.  He said it was great one. 

His dad made his favorite breakfast, pancakes, and then we headed off to the Lego Store.   A good part of the day (and the next) was spent building Legos with his siblings. 

We did let him invite a couple of his best friends to go to Jump Street- an indoor play area for bigger kids with trampolines that even kinda go up the walls.  After they wore themselves out, we picked up dinner at Freddy's then headed back to our house for cake and ice-cream.

His friends (who are brothers) surprised him with the Knight Bus, which he was totally excited about.  And just the other day he got a package in the mail from another one of his best friends who recently moved to Texas, in which he found the Lego set of the Forbidden Forest. 

Zach really wanted me to take pictures of his finished products.  He was really excited about them and worked hard on them. 

I personally love the details.  Hagrid's pink umbrella.  Luna's head turns around so she can wear her Spectra-specs, or not. The snack trolley with a little chocolate frog. Fred and George with the Marauder's map. Just to name a very few.

I'm secretly hoping all these presents of little colorful molded plastic will help me with my other gift I've been trying to give him for a few years now- The gift of the love of reading.  For all his love of Harry Potter, he has yet to read the books.  Legos are great.  I think they inspire creativity and imagination, but there's nothing like a good book.