Wow. Like each year past, I'm hopeful that year 7 will be a great year for Grayson. Year 6 sure was. And I will admit that on the inside I can breathe a little sigh of relief this year, as this particular year, I don't feel like I have to say goodbye to a baby like I did at age 4, and thankfully I don't yet have to say hello to a double-digit pre-teen! I just have a big boy getting bigger! And wiser!
So many great things happened to/for Grayson over the past year. He was blessed with a wonderful teacher (his same from kindergarten) and thoroughly enjoyed first grade. There were so many successes along the way. He was his class's first Student of the Month and took off as a reader, "graduating" to chapter books by mid-year. Now you'll always find a Jack and Annie Magic Treehouse book at his bedside--his mama could stand to learn a thing or two from him! Writing is also something that he adores--in that, he and I are very much the same! And he's a good little author, let me tell you! Thankfully we already have a treasure trove of samples--books, poems, signs, posters, letters, you name it!
Outside of the classroom, he enjoyed some success on the soccer field, too! Like he actually scored some goals! More than one! But more importantly, he just loves the game. And his team. And we continue to love being a soccer family (except when it's raining)! We also continue to love being a theme park family, and Grayson this past year discovered that he REALLY likes roller coasters! Yay for us!
But more than his performance in the classroom or on the field, I am most proud of my boy's character--who he is. And who he is is kind and respectful. He loves deeply. He forgets little. He thinks about things and people long and hard. He questions his own decisions and the decisions of others in an effort to do what is right and just. He has a conscience like that of his mama's and follows rules to a 'T'! He will learn eventually that life can get hard (and even a little lonely) when you're a rule follower--sometimes you're the only one swimming upstream--but at the end of the day, he can be most proud of himself and his integrity. Because certainly, his family is proud of him, now and always!
And now, to the big day...
In recent years we started the tradition of having
mini doughnuts for breakfast on the kids' birthdays. But, um...Apparently we've moved up to the full-size counterparts! And you can bet that Grayson wasn't complaining! Ha!
Opening a few presents from us first thing in the morning.
He
says that getting presents isn't his favorite thing about his birthday, but look at that face! It totally is! :)
But the all-important party definitely ranks a close second! This year's theme? Lego Star Wars. No surprise there. On the agenda? A sleepover with his 3 best buddies! Yes, a sleepover. Suggested by Daddy. So guess who got the late-night shift and had to tame 4 wild 6 and 7 year-olds? You got it. Not me!
Prior to the party, Grayson wrote out a list of all the planned activities. In order. First up? Party games, of course! So we started with a Jedi obstacle course. (Sorry, people. I was too busy being a Jedi trainer to take pictures!) First, each participant had to figure out his Jedi name:
Next, I had to figure out some way to bring Legos into the
Lego Star Wars party! So we had a bridge building competition. Each bridge, once constructed, had to be able to hold a raw egg. The boys got right to work and took the task very seriously, as you can see!
Miss Molly, the assistant. She, unfortunately, was a little under the weather that weekend and had to miss out on a sleepover with her buddy Carter. :( But, in the end, it would have been kind of weird for her to miss out on all of her brother's birthday festivities, so I guess maybe things played out the way they were supposed to...
This picture cracks me up! Apparently Garrett is meditating over his egg!
Notice the contrast in expressions! I really do
think that Isaac was happy! Really! :)
After the rousing party games, it was time to go to dinner--pizza!
Logo t-shirts. I say they're the new party favor!
Then it was time to open presents. After I found out that my boy (innocently enough) asked each of his friends for a SPECIFIC gift, we had a little discussion about tact and birthday present etiquette! So embarrassing!
But boy oh boy he was happy! Can you tell how much they like each other?! I love it!
Now, a word to the wise...Apparently birthday PIE is taboo among 7 year-olds! Let's just say that obviously they have never tasted my white chocolate banana cream version and don't know what they're missing! Except Grayson. He was happy, happy with his mama's pie. :)
Happy birthday, my sweet boy! I love you!
