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!