On March 5, 2015 my baby turned 8. He received the best birthday gift, six inches of snow and no school!

And an afternoon to celebrate with some of his favorite buds.

On March 7, 2015 a sick Lucas celebrated his birthday with family, friends and two-hours of video games with Game Truck.

With the blow of a candle a new year begins. This past year has brought about such change; you’ve traded toys for books, TV for video games. You don’t clamor over every party favor, lollipop or happy meal toy and you don’t have to be the first or the last or have a certain color dish or do the exact same thing your brother or sister do. You’ve outgrown that phase of childhood and realize that you are not the center of the universe.

So for this new year, this year of maturity and responsibility, I wish you Harry Potter book two, “yo mama” jokes, changing what you want to be when you grow up at least ten times, the art of sarcasm, continuing your comic book series, deepening friendships, and hoping your parents allow you to just be you.