Another Very Busy Spider

Very Busy Spider

On Friday, September 21, while Joshua was in preschool, Caleb, Ryan & I read "The Very Busy Spider," a book that Caleb had brought home from the preschool library. In it, different animals make their sounds (the Cow moos, the duck quacks, the dog barks, etc) and asks the spider to come play with them, but the spider doesn't because she's very busy spinning her web. The coolest thing about the book is that the web and the spider and the fly all stick up off the page, so you can feel the items as you read (the boys LOVED this!). Eventually, the rooster asks if the spider would like to catch a pesky fly with him, and the spider does in her great web. At night the owl calls "Whoo who built this beautiful web?" but the spider doesn't answer because she's sleeping...she had a very busy day.

When we were done reading the book for the second (or third?) time, I suggested we make a spider and web. Caleb eagerly agreed. It was Ryan's nap time, so after laying him down, I found black paper and a white crayon. Caleb loved that the white crayon actually worked (typically when they try the white crayon, they don't see it show up on the white paper they're using). This cracked me up! Then we went through the book and tried to mimic what the spider was doing on each page. At times, I think the illustrator made random lines for effect, so next time I might take a different approach. But, either way, we made a web!

Then I went down to our paints and found our white paint. We had very little left, but it was enough for this craft. I painted Caleb's right hand, all but the thumb and he laid it on one side of the paper. Then, we touched up the hand and he laid it on top of the other hand print, facing the opposite direction. I filled in a little in the middle with the sponge brush I had used to put the paint on his hand. Here was our spider on the web!

I then did my hand on my web. It's a much bigger spider!

I asked Caleb to model his spider for me:

We had fun with our "very busy" morning making our own very busy spider.

We read the book several more times before returning it to the library, along with "Bob Lends a Helping Hand" about being God's servant by helping others with whatever we can do (like raking leaves, taking out trash or making our bed). It was a cute book as well.

Happy first day of fall!

Grant's Birthday Party

Sunday, September 23, was also cousin Grant's birthday. We took our ice cream from Joshua's soccer game "to go" and raced home (I parked at the very edge of the lot, backing in, so I could get out right away). We let Joshua change quick as we got the other kids buckled and away we went to Akron Park to Grant's birthday party, which we were extremely late for.

They had already sung to Grant, but Gayle shared a piece of ice cream cake with us - and it was delicious! Grant started opening his gifts from Nonie & Poppy, his grandma, his parents and us. Uncle Brian told us Grant was really into Angry Birds, so we had purchased him an Angry Birds shirt and a Mario shirt, putting the gift receipt in the bag in case they didn't fit. Even though Grant is only one year older than Joshua, he is SO much bigger! :) :) :)

Then the kids were off to the playground to play. They had a great time! The park was pretty full that day, but it's a really nice playground.

Jenavieve asked me to get a picture of her, and this was the "cheese" she gave me. Haaa!!! :) :) :)

Joshua loves the monkey bars and is getting stronger and stronger, easily able to maneuver them by himself now. Only, he couldn't get up to the bars, so cousin Grant had given him a boost as I was walking over. It worked great!

They had fun climbing and doing all the obstacles.

Ryan stayed behind with Daddy and enjoyed this "cuuuuppp." We left a little later than the party officially 'ended' but hadn't been there all that long. That said, we needed to race home again because the older boys had Kings Kids choir again that night. They LOVE it! They're enjoying learning the songs and the crafts and activities they do afterward. They both come home singing. If you want to mark your calendars, they will perform these songs on December 2 at Calvary Church. So, come let us adore Him together! :) :) :)

GOAL!

On Sunday, September 23, I took Joshua to his soccer game alone. Shawn decided to stay home and try to nap while the younger boys napped (which didn't work out so well, by sounds). Joshua told me on the way there that he was really going to try to score a goal. I told him that as long as he said encouraging things to all the players and tried his best, that was all that really mattered.

The BLACK team was playing the NAVY team, which had some really, really good players on it for their ages. But, Joshua was the first kid to take the ball down the field and scored a goal for his team "by himself" as he tells us. He did a great job, and the look on his face after scoring the goal was absolutely priceless. He gave me a big thumbs up as he ran back to his spot. Great job, little man!

The NAVY team one, with two little guys who consistently scored goals throughout the game, but Joshua & Luke scored another goal toward the end of the game - Joshua driving it up the field and passing it to Luke at the end who scored the goal. They were thrilled!

At the end of the game, they received coupons for a free Maggie Moos ice cream for participating in the Soccer Classics. Joshua got his favorite cookies 'n cream in a dish rather than a cone. I was surprised at the serving size and at the cones even being free for the players. It was very nice, and parents could purchase additional ice cream for themselves or their other children if they wanted to. I chose not to, but it was a nice treat for Joshua to get ice cream at the game where he scored the first goal.

It was a great afternoon!!!

A Fall Fire

 

On Friday, September 21, after the boys' doctors appointments and Shawn got out of work, we headed to the Paradise campground where Shawn's parents were staying. They made yummy BBQ for dinner along with his mom's deviled eggs. The boys were exhausted and fell asleep on the way there, but they played nicely with their cousins and overall did better than I expected. Ryan isn't a great age for campfire, but he was in love with the cheese curls that he was eating in his stroller, so he stayed content most of the time we were there.

They also had a cake to celebrate the birthdays - Joshua's was the Tuesday before and Grant's was coming up on Sunday with Gayle's right behind him on Tuesday. Above you'll see Brian's family (all the pictures came from Papaw's camera again) and below is Joshua opening his gift from Aunt Missy - thanks again!

Shawn's parents called us the next day to see if we wanted to do lunch, and we said sure. We hadn't really seen them much this trip. We went to Red Robin - yum! Caleb highly enjoyed his grilled cheese and apple slices while the rest of us also enjoyed our food, along with the mile-high mud pie. Not carb-friendly but totally worth the calories, in my opinion. Caleb told Joshua where we had been while he was gone, and the Bean was not thrilled that we went there without him. I told him I'm sure we'll go again sometime. At least he got to see Papaw & Mamaw one last time that evening - we ended up meeting them for dinner that night at Pizza Hut off Route 30. Ryan batted his eyelashes at some younger pre-teen girls who, along with their mom, thought he was the cutest thing ever. They kept his interest while we ate (that and the pizza, which he enjoys). When they left, an older couple took their place in the booth next to our table. Once again, they were talking to him as he grinned from ear-to-ear at their table. He is such an easygoing child! They seemed to enjoy seeing the baby (which is good because some older people love kids while others really don't).

After dinner we said our goodbyes since they wanted to clean the camper that night before leaving in the morning. See ya'll next time! :)

Dates :)

As I mentioned before, on Wednesday, September 19, I got a text in the morning (after I had finished Body Step) from Papaw asking if he could take Joshua for a little while was Mamaw was out to lunch with her friend. I said sure, so long as he had the Bean home in time for his pictures that afternoon. Papaw came with me to pick up Joshua at school, and they left from their to go to Joshua's favorite "King Burger" and then back to their camper to play some baseball catch with Joshua's new glove.

In the meantime, I left to go pick up Caleb at soccer shots. That afternoon, I dressed them all in their soccer shirts and headed to JCPenny's to get Joshua's 6-year portraits, along with a couple of Ryan for his 15-months and Caleb (why not, since we were there?). She took a couple with the boys and me as well. I always think Audry (or is it Audra?) does a great job! These pictures are from that sitting, along with the others with these shirts that are in different posts.

We weren't sure if we would see Shawn's parents at all that night since we hadn't seen them much this visit, but Papaw confirmed that they had other plans. So, I sent a text to our babysitter asking if she'd like to watch the boys while we go to dinner and thankfully she said yes. We had a partial gift card leftover from a gift from my friend for my birthday that we used, and we both ordered drinks with dinner (something we haven't done in awhile). It was a beautiful night out and we enjoyed the food and the company. It was a particularly fun night. When we got home, I put Ryan to bed while Shawn got the other two to sleep.

Thursday morning I went to Gymboree and saw my friend Karisten there (what are the odds!?!?). Her son came running up to me, "JOSHUA!" he said excitedly. Only, I didn't have either of my older buddies along that morning. He was a little disappointed.

That afternoon after I had picked up both boys from school and gone to Body Attack, Grandpa Georgia asked if he could take Joshua out for his birthday. He had already given him a bell for his bike, but wanted to do something since he had missed his party. I explained to Dad that I wasn't okay with him driving Joshua around since his eye sight is so bad, but I offered to take Joshua somewhere or have Grandpa and him have some special time here. He said okay, but I could tell I had hurt his feelings. I know he drives normally, but I'm not too sure about his eyes these days and I'd rather him not have an accident with my kiddos in the car. I told him that if he'd like to go to McDonald's (which is literally two turns, both of which are in our development), I would help get Joshua buckled. I didn't want him going anywhere else, and Dad agreed. I also mentioned that Joshua needed to be home in time for soccer practice. They had a fun afternoon together. Joshua ate 1 and a half ice cream cones - WOW!

 When Joshua got home, I helped him get ready for soccer practice. Shawn called me and said he was picking up pizza on the way home since he knew we were pressed for time. What a great husband! Indeed, we raced to get home and Shawn beat us. We enjoyed dinner as a family and Mamaw from her house arrived to watch the boys while Shawn & I went to parent night at Joshua's school. We heard about the school theme song and other (somewhat boring) information from the principal. Then we went to the classroom with the other kindergarten parents and met Mrs. Vogt and listened to her speech. We were back within an hour to relieve Mom. :)

On Friday, September 21, I took the boys to "Little Ninjas" again like I typically do on Monday and Friday afternoons. The boys say "Ay-yah!" as they hit or kick, which the instructor explained was to make sure that their belly muscles are nice and tight so they don't hurt their core as they land their punches or kicks. They do great with it (even Caleb who's normally quiet gives a great big "AY-YAH!" as he goes!). As they were showing me at home what they had done, I noticed that Ryan was getting into it, saying his own "Ay-YAH! AY-Yah!" Haaa!!!! So sweet!

We had been invited to a play date at Stoner Park that afternoon, but we didn't make it. Ryan had his 15-month well-child check-up at the pediatrician, and Joshua had his 6-year well-child check-up following that appointment (both of which I believe I've blogged about already). All three kids got their flu vaccines while we were there as well (and I've gotten mine from Millersville, so it's just Daddy's turn now).

Joshua's birthday excitement didn't end there, though. Nonie & Poppy came to pick him up on Saturday morning at 10 am to take him to the Hands on House and then out to lunch at Isaac's. They had planned this time awhile back, working around soccer schedules and choir, etc. and he was SO excited to go! He had a great time - THANKS!

Taking the High Road

On Monday, September 17, Joshua came out of school VERY excited. This was the first day he "clipped up" on the good behavior chart at school. He had told me ever since the first week of school that he'd been trying and trying to clip up past "ready to learn" but the teacher didn't seem to notice his good behavior. I had tried to explain that the teacher expects good behavior all the time - that means that you're ready to learn. The fact that he was trying to make good choices and go above and beyond made me happy. And I hoped for his sake that he would be able to clip up some day.

That Monday, he told me that "Mason really wanted to sit next to Nathan, so I told him he could have my chair" and that earned him a clip up. He was THRILLED!

When we took him out to his favorite pizza restaurant for his birthday, we saw that the eastbound lanes of the highway were completely stopped and the traffic backlog could be seen for miles and miles as we traveled westbound. I said to Shawn that we needed to make a mental note NOT to come back on the highway because even if whatever the cause of the stopping was cleared, it would take awhile for the traffic flow to get back to a normal pattern. He agreed and added that with his mental state after working it was going to be difficult to remember. I agreed to that statement, so I told the boys that as soon as we came out of the restaurant, they should help us remember NOT to take to highway home. Could they remember? Joshua eagerly agreed. When we left dinner, he told Daddy, "Take the LOW way home." With us both being tired, we had no idea what he meant at first. "Buddy, what are you trying to say?" I asked him. He said "You told me to remind you not to take the HIGH way home, so make sure that you go the LOW way!"

Haaa!!! We cracked up! We had not remembered. (Obviously he had.) But the highway vs. low way made us giggle. I love to experience the world through our boys' eyes. We took back roads home and chuckled about it being the low way. :) :) :)

Hide 'n Sleep

On Monday, September 17, I had to teach in the evening. So while all the boys headed for naps that afternoon after we got home from the gym, I decided to get a quick shower. When I got out, I peeked in at each one and could NOT find Caleb. I looked in our bed, I looked back in his bed, I checked the play room, the family room... I could feel my blood pressure rising slightly. Then as I raced back up the stairs, I saw that the comforter in our room was on the floor with a suspicious lump in it. I pulled the corner back slightly and found a Caleb Luke, who must have fallen asleep trying to play Hide 'n Seek. 

He loves to play Hide 'n Seek, and sometimes he hides in very obvious places that we giggle he even thinks he's not able to be caught while other times his sneaky brain gives him a good spot. He normally laughs while we're close so he's easier to find, but this time he fell asleep. He was covered in sweat from this heavy blanket that was pulled all the way over his head. Oh, my silly boy! I love you! And I'm glad you were safe!

A Glimpse into the Life of Joshua at Six Years Old

Joshua turned six on Tuesday, September 18. We've celebrated each month of him growing up, so this is our 72nd celebration! He's changed so much from his early days of life, and I'm so thankful that God has allowed him to learn and grow into the young man that he is today!

First, I'd say that Joshua has a really sweet heart. He genuinely loves other kids and cares about their well-being. He's also perceptive about adults, too. I love to see his kindness and compassion toward others. In fact, the first time he ever "clipped up" at school (a new behavior chart in his classroom where children get to go up or down based on the choices they make), it was because he gave up a chair to another student. He said "Mason really wanted to sit where I was to be next to his friend. I didn't mind, so I let him sit there." It makes my heart glad to hear that he's making good choices and being nice to others!

I also think Joshua is super sharp, too. I read all the paperwork sent home by his teacher about reading, and it said that children at his age should be able to separate words into syllables. I hadn't even thought to teach him about syllables, and I was thinking about how to explain it. The paper gave the suggestion of clapping to words to separate them out. So, I started one day as we were driving by asking him how many syllables were in his name. My expectation was that he was going to ask what a syllable was, but instead, he answered "Josh-u-a, three!" I asked him many other words as we continued to drive, and he answered them all correctly. I guess I don't need to teach him that - they must have gone over it at school already, and he picked it up quickly!

Joshua has been sailing through the math homework he has to do for school each night, and his handwriting is improving with time. He can write relatively well and is starting to try to spell words on his own. One of his monthly calendar homework assignments asked "what was yesterday" on Sunday. He wrote by himself "Sadrday." I know it's not the correct spelling, but I was pretty impressed by his attempt.

He also is reading extremely well by himself, and I'm constantly surprised as his vocabulary is growing. I'll expect him to stumble over certain words that he'll say with ease. His first book he borrowed from the library was called "Bats at the Beach." The bats all go to the shore at night with their 'moon-tan lotion' and the entire book rhymes (which is always fun to read!). Joshua is getting better and better at rhyming words. When he can't think of anymore, he'll make up words with the ending sound. But, he'll tell me that's one of his own words, which I know is part of the learning process.

Joshua is doing both soccer and martial arts this fall. He's been doing very well at both. He's still learning, but I can see definite improvement from practice to practice and game to game. Most of all, I'm glad he's having fun and getting physical activity. I think all of these things together are boosting his self-esteem. He loves going to Universal, and he has made a ton of friends there. He'll recognize kids from his class or the other kindergarten class and call them by name. I always laugh that Joshua seems to have a ton of friends with his outgoing personality.

Joshua's latest thing that he's been doing is asking the meaning of words. With this growth in vocabulary (which is great!), Shawn and I have had a difficult time trying to explain the exact meaning of each and every word to him. There are some words that are hard to describe without using the word. So, at times we just put them in context and try to explain them that way. He has asked some pretty tough ones and then others that are relatively easy to explain using a synonym.

On Friday, September 21, Joshua had his 6-year well-check at 4 pm with Dr. Kernan. His stats were:
Weight: 42 lbs (26.58%)
Height: 3' 10" (60.6%)
Blood Pressure: 98/56
Pulse: 88

She said that he's growing beautifully. His weight other than one significant drop has stayed in the 20th percentile while his height has remained relatively consistent at between the 50th and 60th percentile. That gives him a nice lean BMI (body mass index) which is what they like to see for him. That is considered his "normal" and looks great from their perspective. We talked about his asthma, and she said that she would like to see him go on Flovent this winter rather than the Pulmacort since the Flovent is through an inhaler rather than the nebulizer. He's officially old enough to be using a regular inhaler all the time, and she said that more medication gets to the lungs through an inhaler than a nebulizer. He's getting SO big! I went and got all his prescriptions filled. He also got a flu shot while we were there, which he was not too thrilled about!

One last change worth noting at this age. His friends in our neighborhood have been asking him to come over and play. I have NO idea at what age I can let him go on his own to a friend's house. He has a little buddy down the street that plays outside often, and I don't always see the parents out. That child has older siblings, though. I know Joshua knows his boundaries, and yet I wonder if the parents truly want another little buddy hanging around. I see children wandering our neighborhood all the time. Many play very well together. Many even stop over at our house to play when we're out in the driveway. But, I'm always there and supervising. This is completely new territory to me. I'm not real comfortable yet with the idea of him going off to another house where I don't know the parents well or their expectations for children playing together with their children. I also don't want to be the overbearing strict parent who never lets their child do anything. We've discussed it together and agreed that next time we'll invite the friend to come here. Joshua still gets to play then and I can be there to watch. I'm still seeking wisdom on what's best for him! And I must say that we're very blessed to live in a development full of children who seem very nice and have parents who seem to care. I love that we have sidewalks and safe places for children to gather and have fun together.

With my oldest child comes new challenges and adventures! I'm loving experiencing the world through his eyes. I enjoy how much he loves school and how well he's doing. I praise God for his safety and his overall health. Please continue to pray for Joshua! Happy 6th birthday, my little buddy!

Joshua's 6th Birthday

 Joshua turned six years old on Tuesday, September 18, 2012.

He wore his new jeans from Mamaw and Papaw and his new sweater that I had bought him with the soccer ball on it. I gave him choices in the morning and he picked the sweater with the gingham shirt underneath. I thought he looked adorable!
 
The weather that day was horrendous! It rained hard and the wind blew - there were severe thunderstorm warnings, flash flood warnings and even tornado warnings for our area. But, my devotions that morning reminded me that rain is necessary for crops to grow, and Joshua didn't seem to miss a beat with the weather. :) :) :)

The night before, he said he wanted "Pancakes from McDonald's" for breakfast. Shawn & I were both surprised by the request. But, Daddy said it was his birthday, so he ventured out in the morning and brought back a hot breakfast for the kids. Joshua had a cold, so he didn't eat more than a few bites of his (combined with the excitement) but Ryan ate pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and hash browns. YUM! Caleb also ate pancakes, but not a ton. I put some of it back in the fridge to enjoy another day.

I walked Joshua to school that morning (as usual), and he refused to wear a coat (it was also still very warm and humid). I made a mental note that we need to buy him his own umbrella because we'll be walking to school no matter what the weather is like. After giving him hugs and kisses goodbye, Caleb, Ryan and I walked back to the car and drove to preschool. It happened to be Caleb's turn to bring snack that morning as well and the letter of the week was "C." So, we took in Cracker Barrel cheese and crackers - easy and went along with the theme! I kissed him goodbye, and Ryan and I headed back to our house. I put Joshua's treats and things in a more rain-proof bag and then read Ryan his "book" (a word he says clearly and often!) and then Mamaw "from her house" arrived.

She let me borrow her rain coat since the hood stays on better than mine because it has draw strings. I also had my umbrella and still felt a little like a drowned rat by the time I got to the school. I arrived a few minutes early and after signing in, I checked out the classroom. It was one of my highlights from the day. Joshua & most of his classmates had just finished their math work and were handing in their papers. Then it was free play time. Mrs. Vogt allows no more than four kids per station. If a child leaves a station to go to another, then a different child may join that station. I thought that was a good way to make sure no area was too crowded, etc. Joshua was playing legos with his good friends Brayden P, Spencer M, and Ethan B. They were having a BLAST together.

But, I felt bad for the other Spencer (the one Joshua knew from preschool) who didn't want to do the in-class work and was the last one to finish. Once he finally got done because the teacher insisted he complete the task, he begged to play legos. Since there were already four children there, she got out a different bin of legos and told him to play with another child who was all but tearful and looking lost in the middle of the room. Every single day when I pick Joshua up from school, this little boy is bawling that he wants his mommy as he heads on the bus to go the after-school daycare. It breaks my heart to see him at this age be so upset and missing his parents. I am SO glad that's not Joshua. Spencer didn't want to play with him. He wanted to play with the other boys. There are other boys in the class that were playing at other stations, but most of them already had four students already. Joshua told me that his preschool buddy isn't his close friend anymore because "he doesn't make very good choices."

While I want Joshua to play with kids who do make good choices and will encourage him to do well, too, I felt bad for the kids who looked left out and lonely. And, I was SO glad that it wasn't Joshua feeling that way. How do I encourage him to look out for the underdog and yet not become one himself? I continue to pray for wisdom for us as parents and him as a young man growing up.

I saw their artwork from the Open House hanging up. I'm sure you can't tell from this small picture, but some of the kids are genuine artists in drawing themselves on the first day. I loved seeing all the differences! The play time gave the teacher and I a few minutes to chat and get to know one another a little better. I was thankful for that opportunity as well.

She had given them roughly 5-10 minutes to play and then turned out the lights (where they all "freeze") and told them it was time to clean up and then head to the mat for a special time for Joshua's birthday. She told me that she gave Joshua the opportunity to sing to him in the morning when he arrived or wait for me, and he picked first thing (not a big shock to me since he loves to be center of attention - can you tell from the photo above? Haaa!!!). He also got to pick a special "treat" out of the birthday box she has, and instead of picking candy, he picked a little plastic snake. Again, I wasn't shocked since he's not big on sweets.

Joshua's been talking about his friends at school, and I listen closely since I'm intrigued to see who he genuinely enjoys. Almost since the very first day, he's said that a girl named Evelyn is super nice. I saw little Evelyn in action and grinned. Joshua was sitting in the center of his group of male friends, and she planted herself right in front of him (see the pink shirt above) and started making all sorts of crazy faces at him. He laughed and made crazy faces back. Yep, that's a good match. Haaa!!! She's a cutie pie with big dimples when she smiles. I didn't realize it before looking at these pictures, but when they all turned and rearranged themselves to listen to the story, she sat right next to Joshua. When I took the Bean to school the following day, her bus arrived as we were walking up and she ran right up to him and say "Hey, dude!" and he grinned. They are adorable at this age.

Manheim Township suggested bringing in a book for the classroom library for a special birthday treat, and they put a special sticker in it that says who it was donated by along with their birthday. Shawn had taken Joshua on a special trip to Barnes & Nobles over the weekend (just the two of them) to purchase the book that he & I had picked out. Joshua got to eat a special cookie there with Daddy while they were getting the book. Shawn also wrapped it (since he does a much nicer job than me!) and Joshua opened it in front of the class. It was "Curious George and the Birthday Surprise." I sat in the teacher's chair and read the book to the class. In it, the man with the yellow hat tells George that he's working on a surprise and George can help by staying out of trouble. But, George hears an ice cream truck, finds decorations (that he helps hang) and an un-iced birthday cake that he tries to make icing for (and makes a mess, of course). He lets dogs in to lick up the icing and finally the guests arrive as the man with the yellow hat brings in a new, decorated cake and puts it in front of George as they all celebrate his birthday at the party. It was a cute book and the kids seemed to LOVE it. I would ask a question here or there to get them involved.

After the book, we handed out the birthday treats. The teacher told me that one student in the class had a peanut allergy and there might be others, so she would prefer a pre-packaged treat that students could take home and the parents could give at their discretion. I said that would be just fine. I found the "fall party cakes" that did not list any peanuts or nuts as part of the ingredients. They were decorated and looked festive for the time of year and for a birthday. I then made labels for each one saying "Dear Kindergarten Friend, Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday today. Enjoy the treat! ~Joshua" with a Toy Story sticker. I figured if parents had questions about ingredients, they at least had Joshua's name on it (and we all have a contact list for each child) so they could contact me.

Joshua handed each child a pack of these little cakes, and we left two behind for students who weren't there that day and the one we made for Mrs. Vogt, who said "Thank you! This is just what I needed on a day like today!" Yum! Chocolate!

I left after Joshua finished handing out the treat. I headed back to get Ryan so Mom could head out. Not too long thereafter it was time to pick up Caleb at school and then walk back to get Joshua. This time, I put both younger boys in the double stroller with their rain coats on and with the umbrellas on to try and shield them from getting soaked. But, it was a "soaked" kind of day. I gave Joshua my pink umbrella for him to hold and shield him, but it was SO windy that he struggled to even hang onto it. Oh well, a little rain and water never hurt anyone.

With Joshua's cold, after lunch I suggested he lay down and rest. He had brought home a book from the library called "Bats at the Beach" (a really cute story, I might add, for any mama readers looking for a good book to borrow for their kids) and we read it twice before the kids nodded off to sleep. When he woke up, I gave him options for dinner and he insisted on the "pizza restaurant." So, when Shawn got home, we headed to Infinito's. The kids all ate well, as they usually do there.

Chuck E. Cheese had emailed me 20 free tokens for Joshua's birthday. So, we took some leftover tokens we had in the drawer from the last time we had been there and combined them with the 20 free ones and let the boys have some fun that evening after dinner. It gave us the perfect amount of time to be there. With the ugly weather, the place was relatively empty and we were able to do the things we wanted to but not be there all night.

 Ryan liked the basketball hoop and carried around this mini ball throughout the evening.

 Joshua played air hockey with Caleb, Shawn and me.

We took one picture of us as we watched the kids play. :)

Ryan met the Chuck E. Cheese mouse, but he wasn't too sure about him. The mouse kept his distance, which was good. In the meantime, Caleb had taken off his Lightning McQueen rain boots and was climbing the playground area and sliding down.

 He came back down to do more games.

The birthday boy was having fun. He and Daddy were hanging out, as we often divide and conquer.

 

The Bean wanted to ride this balloon thing, but he wasn't too sure about it once he was on.

The boys do love to ride this clock thing, especially when they get to say that they are taller than us!

We ended the night with the kiddos racing their cars and airplanes, etc. They love these games!

 Shawn even played some baseball and football games while I watched Ryan.

 But, we saw the clock and were out of tokens, so we headed on home.

While the kids got into PJs, I prepared some "cake." We had had Joshua's Mario cake for his party, so we didn't buy or make another cake, especially since he's not a big fan of cake or sweets (he'd much prefer ice cream!). But, I felt he should be able to blow out a candle on his birthday. Since we had two packs of the little cake treats we had taken into school, I thought that worked perfectly. I put them on festive plates for added effect.

 We lit the candle and sang to our big 6-year-old boy!

 He had had a fun day, even with his yucky cold.

 He blew out the candle!

And Daddy scooped some ice cream. Joshua picked "party cake" ice cream out at Turkey Hill (I was surprised since the kids love the "chocolate Scooby Doo" ice cream so much - or cookies 'n cream with chocolate ice cream rather than vanilla).

 

 Don't you just love his cheesy face?

Caleb enjoyed the cake more than Joshua.

Ryan sat in his seat for a snack with his brothers, too.

 Then the boys headed into the living room so Joshua could open his presents. Caleb had picked out something special for Joshua, which he handed him. I love this photo below.

 Caleb watched as Joshua opened it up.

It was a "bomb" from their favorite Mario Wii game. The bomb is filled with candy (which we didn't tell them). Caleb saw it while we were at Toys R Us shopping for Joshua (the Friday of the apple picking) and cracked up and thought Joshua would get a kick out of it. He certainly did! He loved it and has carried it around the house since.

 Thanks, brother!

I also had picked up a water bottle that has Mario on it for Joshua to take to his soccer practices and games. He wasn't nearly as excited about it as his brother's gift. It wasn't "da bomb." Haa!!

The last gift he opened that night was a soccer ball, size 4, which we didn't have when soccer started. We had a 3 and a 5, so now he has the correct size for his age and league. He seemed happy to get it! Caleb had been with me while we shopped for it, and he tried to tell Joshua at least a dozen times what he was getting for his birthday, but I always scolded him and told him to save the secret for a surprise. NEVER AGAIN will I take a child along to shop for the other!!! Haaa!!!!

Caleb, who enjoys seeing the "Mama-razzi," asked if he could have the camera to take some pictures. He took these of us with Joshua.

I tucked Ryan into bed and then we played some 4-player Wii to finish out Joshua's special day. Happy 6th birthday, Joshua Douglas Good! We love you!!!

I found some pictures from when Joshua was first born and showed him. I remember a premie diaper being almost half the size of his entire body (legs included!) when he was first born. I counted the number of surgeries he's had, and I counted at least six (not sure if I missed any). Looking at how amazing and precious he is today, I once again thank God for our miracle child. We are certainly blessed!!! It has been an amazing six years!