Saturday, September 26, 2015

Celebrating Six!

After celebrating M's Birthday in Missouri and Minnesota AND having a Birthday trip to an amusement park you might have thought we were were "Birthday-ed out."  If you thought this, you would be wrong!  We still saved some very special things for the actual Birthday!  This year M's Birthday was on a Saturday.  That meant that Brandon was home in the morning so we could all spend time together.  

M opened his presents first thing in the morning.  Actually he opened six gifts.  He and T also got to open small gifts (because it was her half Birthday) later in the morning.  We have learned that separating the kids during the gift opening is crucial to the Birthday kid having joy and the non-Birthday kid not having a total break down.  Because our kids are six months apart we do some small half Birthday gifts for the sibling which usually match up with a few smaller Birthday gifts for the other.  They open them together so they get the feeling of seeing the other person open gifts and they get to be excited for the other person.  

M was up early for days before his Birthday.  We were all glad when the day was finally here! I didn't include pictures of every gift because you all get the idea, right?


M: Is is finally time to open the presents? 

Brandon's parents sent a gift in the mail.  M continues to love this gift and his teeth look better than ever!  I am not joking, they really do!
M: A race car automatic tooth brush!  Yes!!!

M: Can I try it right now? 
I am a pretty practical gift giver so there were new shorts and pants for school to be opened.  I guess the 5T pants are a bit long!  What are we going to do when winter comes?  The 4T pants are looking pretty short.  I guess he will be rolling the waist line.

M:  Mom, these are sporty, but they are SO BIG! 
I remember when I was about M's age I received a tape player of my very own.  I was so excited about it.  This summer while we were visiting Brandon's family we got to look through some of Grandma R's things.  We saw the CD player and knew that M would love it!  We hid it until his Birthday and he was SO THRILLED to open it!

M: Is it really for ME? 
Grandma R was the biggest Cardinal's fan I know!  She listened to many games on that very CD player.  We found it funny and special that M was wearing his Cards shirt and holding the CD player!
M: Can I try it out? 
M: How many pictures are you going to take? 

Why yes, he did stop opening presents to check it out.  Even though he had a big one to open!

M: It really works.  I can listen to the radio too! 

Those who know me know that most of my children's gifts double as some sort of therapy or bonding tool.  This was the case with M's big gift this year.  We got him a punching bag and real boxing gloves.  We need to rig something up to hang it.  We are currently using the same hook as the platform swing and the kids want/need the swing more and I can't lift the bag to hang it so it really hasn't been used much at all.  We wanted to provide an opportunity for M to get out some aggression.  Brandon has gloves too so it doubles as a bonding opportunity for them.

M: What is it? 

M: Whoa, there are big! 

M: I feel like a tough guy now! 

And then the presents were over and T was not yet awake.  M knew just what he wanted to do, sit and listen to his music.  It was so sweet and very therapeutic for him.

M: This is so cool!

M: I have a lot to think about now, since I am six! 
Finally T woke up an I went to the car to get the second stash of gifts!  First they opened cards!

M and T: What does it say? 

Then they opened gifts.  They both received Animal Crackers.  This was the first time M had them and he was so very excited to try them!

M: I can't believe I can eat these!

M: Hey, these are really good! 

Silly String wrapped in bubble wrap!!!
T needed a larger back pack for school.  I spotted this one and knew my little Princess would love it!  I was correct!!

T: Thank you Mommy and Daddy!  I LOVE IT!!!!!
After gifts it was time for the Big Day silly string war.  This has become a Birthday and Christmas tradition... and I am sad to report the tradition is going to die.  It is such a mess to clean up on clothes and really every where so these photos were the final hurrah!

M: I am finally starting to figure this out! 

T: Thanks for helping me Mommy! 

M: I am going to get you!

After the silly string battle M went upstairs to change clothes.  Yes, his special outfit he saved for his Birthday only lasted until 9:00am.  I will say it washed well and all is fine now! We were pretty surprised to see what M came down in!

M: Thanks for my new Ethiopian outfit!  I love it! 

They needed one last swing before the punching bag could be tried!

M decided that he better not get his special clothes dirty so he went upstairs for wardrobe number three!  He opted for another Ethiopian outfit.  We have friends who were missionaries in ET and brought home lots of clothes for us to give to M through the years.  He was thrilled with this sporty shirt.  He has already outgrown it, but it looked great on him that day!

M: Here I go!

M: This is pretty hard to it. 

We heard a knock at the back door and were excited to see that one of M's best friends came over with a card!
So sweet!

Great buddies! 

The kids received fun band-aids as a gift.  M will make his supply last a long time, T, not so much.  She decided the door needed a pretty band-aid shortly after opening them.  The package is now hidden from T so we can use it on real or fake ouches on her actual skin.

T: I have my back pack ready for school and the door is all fixed up too! 

Each year at our Adoption fundraiser we bid on a family pass to a local Children's Museum.  This year we saved our pass all year to be used for M's Birthday.  The kids and I have gone a few times before, but this was Brandon's first time.  The kids were both very excited to show him around.  There were some new things there this time.  I was a little freaked out by the bees, but it was fascinating.

M: It was cool to watch the bees at work!

T: That will be $47 please! 
Each time we go we are given a little reflective card that allows different things to work/move in the museum.  The kids have never been that into it, but now that M turned six he was very into the card! The circus/carnival thing is very impressive!

M: This is really something for a six year old! 
M couldn't wait to get all the way up to the 4th floor to show Brandon the firetruck!

M: Let me turn on the flashing lights! 

M: Fire Fighter M at your service!

M: It take a lot of concentration to drive this big guy! 

M: Hey Dad, I got a big one! 

M: I don't think I want to try a real tight rope! 

T: I need just a few more things for my cart!

T: Hmm, is this on sale? 

T: Daddy, I caught it!  (She was really trying to catch them)

T: I can drive this fire truck too! 

T: The hat didn't want to stay on.  

The cutest fire fighter around! 

Magnets! 

A Birthday boy and his dad! 

T: Aww man, I can't catch anything. 

M: I am really up high! 

At the end of our time in the museum the kids both got to choose a special prize since it was M's Birthday.  They both wanted the prize M chose.  T wasn't happy!

T: I wanted a puppy too!  WAHHHHHH!!!!

When we got home M decided to share another one of his dogs with T.  W were very impressed.  The both wanted omelets for lunch.  The helped make them and decided to wear their aprons.

Super Cute Kitchen Helpers!

Two egg crackers, very different techniques!
Brandon had to work in the afternoon, but M was in his glory.  I introduced him to TWO movies.  He watched and loved Sandlot and Mighty Ducks.  It turns out some behaviors were learned from MD that led to it being hidden.  M and I both enjoyed the cuddles and watching movies that I enjoyed as a little girl.  M loves all things sporty so he was happy!

We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant.  We didn't tell the kids we invited Curt and Deb their "local grand parents" to join us.  They spotted them as we were parking and invited them to join us!  It was so cute!  We feel so blessed to have Curt and Deb in our lives.  We were so glad they were able to celebrate with us!
M: Curt is eating here too! 

T: Deb loves my new (full) back pack! 

After dinner we all went back to our house for cake.  Curt and Deb brought presents for the kids which were quite a hit!

M: I love musical cards! 

T: I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my new princess dress!!!!  (She wore it 36 hours straight)

T: It twirls really well! 

M: Hmmm, what could be in here? 

M: New shoes!  Let me test them out! 
M: They make me jump really high! 

I frosted the cake and M showed everyone his boxing moves!


M: This is fun! 

Two boxers! 
M wanted to two layer square cake with white frosting.  It isn't fancy, but it met his exact request!

Happy Boy! 

I sure love this boy!

We both love him! 

M: I really sucked in...

M: And then I BLEEEWWWW!
It was a lovely Birthday.  We stuck to a schedule.  We said yes a lot.  We were relaxed.  We kept surprises.  We are so very thankful for our dear M and it was a joy to celebrate his Birth with him.  I am so blessed to be the one he calls "mom!"

I will be writing a longer update post about M's life as a big six year old!  Stay tuned! 

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