11 Years of Declan Kolbe

 I'm sorry to my other children, who all have their God-given strengths and talents, but Declan Kolbe Martin was our cutest baby ever.

Proof:

How did I ever get anything done while kissing those perfect cheeks all day?  What helped make this little guy even more handsome was his easy-going personality.  He's been a sweetheart from Day One all the way through Day 4018 or what was known as his 11th Birthday!

We started the day with a donut breakfast on the way to school, then he said that his teacher and friends made the day so special.  His friends sang to him, one brought him (another) donut, and his teacher let him be the assistant for the day so he sat up next to her desk and helped make decisions.  He told me every.single.detail of the day when we went on a walk after school with the dog, one of his favorite things to do (both the uninterrupted talking time and being outside).  

Declan chose chinese food for dinner:

Chicken fingers, scallion pancakes, rice, general tso chicken, beef teriyaki, and boneless spareribs

And a chocolate cake with oreo frosting (needed to 1.5 that recipe to frost the whole cake) which was as delicious as it was poorly decorated!

His siblings were all very thoughtful and generous to him as well, giving him cards and gifts and taking him shopping at the Dollar Store.  Brendan, who has no job and no car because he's 8, even found a way to get Declan some Celtics basketball cards from his teacher's collection when she was younger.

Time for gifts!

Sooooo excited to get cash and his favorite chocolates from Gammy and Grandpa

Declan has always loved Snoopy, and when I found him with an ice cream cone, I couldn't resist!

His gifts included:

Hover Soccer Ball

Personalized Celtics Lunchbox

Jayson Tatum shirt

Basketball Cards

Basketball Shoes

Declan is our sports-loving, outdoor-living, nervous-nellie, question-asking, fun-seeking, either starving or completely stuffed, misophonic, humble server, people-pleasing little boy who apologizes very easily and says thank you multiple times for every single thing he gets.  

He has to hug us goodnight every night and say "I love you from the bottom of my heart" and if one of us isn't here, we have to pretend to be the other person so he can hug and say goodnight to them too.  He is the most loyal friend to his group of friends since preschool, and still calls hanging out with them "playdates".

  He gets super excited to go and do anything, whether it be returning cans at the store, going grocery shopping, playing at the park, or going on vacation.  He is so appreciative of gifts and tends to be a bit of a hoarder as he is a sentimental kid who hangs on to memories.  

Declan dragged his feet on reading Harry Potter and Michael Vey, the two series we make our kids wait until they are 10 years old to start, but when he was finally bored enough to pick up the first Michael Vey book, he was hooked and loves talking about it non-stop now.  

He loves to wind down at night by listening to Beverly Cleary books in his pajamas and robe, while drinking a high calorie protein shake.  The kid loves to sleep in if he can, in high-maintenance fashion, wearing an eye mask and ear plugs in his bedroom shared with two brothers (the misophonia makes hearing snoring/loud breathing/sniffing very hard for him).  

Declan is talented athletically but was born without an aggressive bone in his body and tends to give up the ball rather than fight for it.  I often lament about this part of his personality ("He could dominate if he was more confident and aggressive on the field/court!") but I realized recently that if he was that way, then he wouldn't be the sweet and humble kid that he is.  He is exactly who God made him to be and why would I want to change that?  

We love you so very much DK and we will love you more every day of our lives, from the bottom of our hearts.  Happy 11th Birthday!!