NoNo is 8!

8 Fun Facts about our little Noah on his 8th birthday:

1. As has been mentioned many times before, our Noah LOVES to draw!  Most recently he has been working on drawings of knights, archers, kings, trolls, ogres, and wizards and he keeps them in his "Midevil" binder.

But Noah also loves to do crafts.  Some of his recent works of art include this snow globe life;

an orc mask;

and a lion in his habitat.

2. Noah LOVES to sleep! Some Saturdays he sleeps in well past 9:00! And he's so dang cute when he's sleeping.  I love to sneak in and take pictures of him in all his various poses. Although I think his slumber is so peaceful, Savannah and Xander complain a lot about how he keeps them up with his snoring.

Because he loves to sleep so much, it's extremely hard to get him up; he's definitely a grumpy bear in the morning.

3. Noah is always ready for a good back scratching or massage. While we read scriptures or watch movies, he's constantly cuddling up to me and then raising his shirt so I'll scratch his back. David says Noah is worse than I am!

4. Noah is an extremely stubborn little boy. He knows what he wants and when he wants it and nothing we say or do can quite persuade him to do otherwise. If he doesn't want to clean his room, he won't. If he doesn't want to brush his teeth, he doesn't. If he wants another piece of candy after he's been told he can't have anymore, he'll find a way to get it.  We can try to cajole, threaten, yell, or sweet talk...it has no affect. He makes his own decisions! The perfect story to illustrate this oh-so- lovable trait of his happened just a few mornings ago:  I needed Noah to brush his teeth so I called his name 4 or 5 times with no answer.  As I started walking down the hall, Xander told me that Noah was indeed in his room.  I walked in the boys' room and sure enough, there was Noah sitting on the floor drawing.  I asked him why he didn't answer when I had called and his reply was, "Mom, I am not available right now." That's my Noah!

5. Thank goodness that despite all those "no's" and "I don't care" that we hear a lot of, Noah does have a soft side to him. He has a very tender heart and cares about how others feel. One evening we watched a sports story on a very special young man who has been physically handicapped his whole life. Despite this teenager's physical hardships, he loves and participates on his high school's wrestling team. He can not walk so one of his teammates helps him out to the mat for each match. Although he had yet to win a match in his high school career, this young man stuck with it and at the very end of the season in his senior year he was able to beat one of his opponents. As our family watched this amazing story, Noah started crying; this boy's experience really touched Noah's heart. Just this past week Noah was watching the TV show Shark Tank with David and wouldn't go to bed until he was able to find out if a particular man was able to make a deal with the sharks. As Noah watched the outcome, which was positive for the man, Noah jumped up and with great happiness shouted, "He made a deal! He made a deal!" Noah can be such a little sweetie and I love when he's in his lovable, cuddly, huggy moods.

 6. Noah is also a very spiritual little guy. Getting up to read the scriptures each morning can be really tough but most days he's able to do it and does a great job reading. I'm amazed at what he has been able to retain and the thoughtful answers he gives when we ask questions and get into discussions about church stuff. He loves to tell stories about Samuel the Lamanite and Captain Moroni, two of his favorites!

7. Noah absolutely loves all animals, be they stuffed (he has quite the collection)...

or real.

As he was walking outside one afternoon he saw a caterpillar on the grass.  Noah immediately picked him up and brought him over to me, announcing that it was his friend and his name was Squishy.

The next evening we were at Xander's baseball game when Noah found another caterpillar. According to Noah it was his little friend Squishy who had followed him all the way to the game. Squishy loves to hang out on Noah's arm.

And of course Noah adores our cats and loves to sit outside with them, trying to get them to come close enough for him to pet and love them. Both Googie and Princess are still a little hesitant around him but he never stops trying to shower them with affection.

8. Noah is an entertainer and a classified goof! He is always trying to make people laugh!

He is absolutely outrageous and loves to create different personalities! Here he is a "chef Louis"; the beard he made himself.

Movie characters inspire him. His most recent inspiration is the character of Mr. Sir played by Jon Voight from the movie "Holes".  First comes the drawings of the character...

and then he'll start acting like the character which most times includes dressing up like the character.  He was a little short on accessories for Mr. Sir but he had us all cracking up with his walk, talk, and pretend gun. 
;

Noah's birthday started out as all birthdays in the Pierce household start out: pictures with siblings...

and birthday balloons.

This year, however, we decided to jazz things up a bit and rather than get bday donuts, the birthday child gets a special breakfast date with Mom and Dad. IHOP is the go-to place for breakfast!

Noah was thrilled about his big pancake breakfast.

Yummy!

Such a cute pair!

For Noah's special birthday dinner he chose white mac and cheese, one of David's specialties and Noah's favorite!

And then it was time to open presents which Noah had been looking forward to ALL DAY!!!

Some of his favorites included a new Magic Treehouse book...

drawing stuff...

and a pocketknife for the newest scout!

Ahhhh, the anticipation. Is it what I'm hoping it is?

Oh, yes!!!

Chima Legos!!!

And one last final gift from Xander - this sweet little polar bear. Xander had saved up his money and got this for Noah when Xander and I went to the National Zoo way back in March. I had been so impressed that Xander had already been planning on what he wanted to get Noah for his birthday. And Noah loved it!

We all love our crazy Noah!

Since Noah's birthday fell on a Friday this year he got to pick a movie for the family to watch.  "Willow", a classic!

We ended the night with some strawberry cake, Noah's favorite!

Make a wish!

He was all smiles at the end of his special day.

Noah's Favorites at Age 8:
Color:  black
Food:  white mac and cheese; his secret recipe (pretzels with melted cheese)
Movie: Scooby Doo movies
TV Show:  Chima
Book:  Dragonslayer Academy Series
Toy: Legos
Animal:  Polar Bear and monkey
Thing to Do:  Hang out with his family
Sport to Watch:  Baseball
Sport to Play:  Baseball (though he cried when I tried to sign him up and then cried several weeks later when I hadn't signed him up, because he cried, and he wasn't on a team)
Sports Teams:  O's, Niners, and Utes
Sports Player: Darren O'Day (O's)
Fruit: Blueberries (he'll eat a whole carton in one sitting)
Vegetable:  carrots (only with ranch dressing)
Song:  Soolaimon (Neil Diamond)
Singer:  Neil Diamond
Holiday:  Easter
Candy:  Cookies and Cream Hershey bar
Dessert:  cookies
Season:  summer
Restaurant:  IHOP
Temple:  DC
Scripture Hero:  Captain Moroni
Place to Go:  Medieval Times
What He Wants to Be When He Grows Up:  Knight; Soldier
Best Friends:  Ava, Miles, Jacob, Kellan