Dane's 8th

Dane's 8th birthday was on August 19th.

We were out of town then and when we got home, we got ready for house guests who were coming to help get our house ready to potentially sell.  It's been a busy time and this is the latest I've ever been with my birthday posts and unfortunately the posts for three of my favorite people are terribly late.  Dane's is one of them.

Dane was our second great grandchild and our second great grandson.

He is a very important part of this large family,

a very important part of this smaller yet still large family,

and of course a very important part of this even smaller but still large, beautiful family.

I wrote about Dane on his birthday last year in this post and clicking on that link takes you to links to all his previous posts.  Those posts tell a lot about him 'through the years' and have lots of pictures showing how he's changed so I'll just post a few here

and talk about what's been going on in his life during the past year and it's been a busy one!  First of all, right after his birthday last year, we had this

and right after that was crazy hair/face painting day.

Then in the fall there was an outing with Mom and Dad and just the big kids.

and over the holidays the visit to Gulf Shores with all his extended family

and a visit to an alligator farm where he held one for the first time.

In March, Dane was Student of the month

And in April, he and his family went to Splash Mountain where they always have a wonderful time.

In May there was a visit to the Hands On Museum where Dane traveled with this companion.

and later in May a visit and awesome learning experience at his Dad's workplace.

In June the whole family went up north with Chris' mom and stepdad.

and right after that

Finally in August there was canoeing on the Huron River with Mom, Dad, and Jack.

So it's been one of the busiest years ever for Dane with lots of fun and lots of learning experiences and that's perfect for him because he's smart and interested in everything!

He's also athletic and enjoys all sports and always has.

He also likes all outdoor activities maybe especially fishing

and he's very creative - really he's a master at Lego towers and creations and always has been.

But there's so much more to say about Dane.

And they're all about the kind of kid he is.

He's polite, loving, considerate, and smart.  He truly is one of the sweetest kids you could ever meet and he's always wonderful to be around.

He's also responsible and conscientious and a great helper.  I still can't forget about when he was just a little tyke and it was time to pick up toys.  He didn't like it and he cried but he never stopped working and sorting the toys into all their proper containers.  It was a sight to melt any great grandparent's heart.

So we're very proud of you, Dane, and we love you very much!  We know you had a great birthday 'up North' and we're hoping this year will be your best one yet but only half as great as the many more to come.  Happy - very belated - Birthday!