Ricky's Birthday

Ricky turned 12. Wow, hard to believe. He was pretty low key about his birthday. He didn't want much in the way of gifts. He didn't even tell me what he wanted until a couple of days before his birthday.

• Wallet
• Posters of Steve Smith for his room
• His birthday dinner at Red Lobster (unless it is too expensive and then he said we could take him somewhere else)

Well, I got the wallet, and he was happy. What a young man kind of thing to get. He put his money in it and keeps it in his room. He remembers to take it places that he might need money (Dairy Queen with his friends, the Dragon's game with Aaron Bronner and the Reds game with Noah Pennington). He has been pretty responsible with his money.

I am still looking for the Steve Smith posters. I am having trouble finding anything I like, although it really is about what he likes. I need to show him the 2 "sketches" I found on Ebay and see if he likes them. He just asked me this morning if I had found anything. I need to get his done for him.

We did go to Red Lobster for his dinner. Unfortunately, Matthew had a migraine and the whole process was a little disjointed. But Ricky was a total trooper and we made it through (Matthew and I spent about 30-45 minutes in the van letting his headache get better). Ricky enjoyed his food and Matthew even tried - and liked - the popcorn shrimp. We had a DQ cake for Ricky and family a couple of days later. Grandma and Grandpa Cordes got him new golf clubs (cut down from Grandma's old clubs) and Grandma and Grandpa Steinke gave him a gift card. Grandma and Grandpa Swabb gave him $25.00 in cash.

Ricky had some hard lessons in this past year. He has had a lying phase (about to drive me crazy), since it is about totally stupid stuff - not even lying for a good reason. Lots of different punishments - he was out of TAG for about a month. He has had a couple of girlfriends (Lydia King - first part of the year) and now Ashley Brown. He was great with Lydia, even bought her some chocolate for Christmas. We had a conversation about what girls say and what they mean. We told him if you ask a girl if she wants something or if its ok to go somewhere and she says "do whatever you want", that means yes she wants the item and no, you can't go. Well, he took this advice to heart. He asked Lydia if she wanted anything for Christmas. She said..."no, you don't have to get me anything". He came home and told Rick that they had to go shopping and he had to get Lydia a present. He relayed what she said and then told Rick "I know that means I need to get a present". Just keep those thoughts coming and you will do just fine with the women in your life.

He is still a bit short for his age (at least I think he is a bit short), but it doesn't really seem to bother him. His weight is good and his health is good. He still gets headaches, but they seem to be a bit less frequent. He also got contacts in December, 2006. That was a pretty big deal. We had been suggesting it to him for a while, but waited until he decided he was ready. He has done a good job and didn't have much trouble with it.

He is still just an amazingly loving person. He doesn't always show it to everyone, but it is there and I can usually see it. I love him very much and I can't wait to see what the next year brings. Ugh...he'll be in Jr. High school. I am so not ready for that. Love to you Ricky on your birthday.