A Seventh Birthday

Things certainly don't slow down in December for us. After Christmas comes our Jimmer's birthday! And he turned SEVEN!! Feels so weird and awesome to say that. James is such an amazing young boy. Some things about James-

- he loves to read. loves it. he wasn't terribly interested in it last year, but then it clicked and he's been blowing it out of the water ever since. he wants to start reading "the hobbit" soon. by himself. we'll see how that goes :)
- he is such a tender heart. when his brothers are crying and having a hard time, he is there in a second patting their back, giving side hugs, and trying to make them better.
- he doesn't care for school work. BUT once he gets over it being boring, he gets it done super fast.
- is really loving having friends at school. he's never been one to be very attached to other kids, but this year he has made some real friends and i've loved seeing others see how awesome, albeit quirky, this boy is.
- he is just plain silly
- has lost TWO teeth. and it looks like it's going to be a while before he loses any more
- Legos is his life. his birthday was basically LEGOS. and he was pretty happy with that!
- when he grows up he wants to be... lots of things. recently it was a forensic scientist. it switches between that and a zoologist (like the kratt brothers). soldier and restaurant owner has also been on the list. oh, and police officer and scientist. that's where the forensic scientist came from because i told him he could be BOTH. hello, the Flash. win.

Bad picture quality, but don't care. Jimmer and I!

Onto the birthday day! The day started out perfect with donuts and chocolate milk. Brad and my dad took James and Jack to go help get the donuts and milk. Gavin was going to go... but he didn't want to be away from me (poor kid and his anxiety).

Before lunch we had James open his gifts. Knowing he had several Legos sets coming his way, we figured it'd be best to let him have the day to put those together instead of right before bed and making him wait. He loved everything :)

Luke Skywalker's lightsaber and he got a Mickey nutcracker. James adores nutcrackers, so this was very special to him

I had wanted to have a snow trip that day but my parents just drove up to Portland and I figured another long-ish trip wasn't what they really wanted the day before they drove back to California. I thought we could go to the local Cascades Raptor Center, but they're closed on Mondays. Grrr. I then asked how bowling sounded to everyone- yes from all! But when we got there, it was league night (or something) and we'd have to wait a while to get a lane. Being the impatient person that I am, I told James we should do the putt-putt golf next door. I showed it to him and he was on board. Ok. I will say this- in the end, the boys loved it. Which surprised me. Because us adults didn't have too much of a good time, but oh well! They did and that's all that mattered! You certainly won't find us at putt-putt golf for a loooong time!

Next up was birthday cupcakes and ice cream! A few weeks before, I was at JoAnn's with all the boys and they had a bunch of Star Wars things (surprise, surprise). They had cupcake holders and candy toppers. James thought they were so cool and I asked if he wanted them for his birthday. He did and I was so happy! Easy for me! My mom had also brought some sparkler/trick candles to put on top. Only one re-lit itself, but it was still funny to watch.

 He rarely smiles normally for pictures. Our goofy kid :)

We are so grateful for James in our family. He adds such love and kindness to the spirit in our home. I love that he still needs special time with me and wants to hug and kiss me (though not on the lips anymore, because ick). It's so amazing to see him take shape and see even more of a glimmer of who he'll become later in life. Keep being awesome, James. You are going to go far.