BBR May/June

These pictures are a mixture of 2 different BBR trips - one for Memorial Day weekend in May, and the other a month later with the grandparents and Amy and Tyler. 

 

 I guess this was the ride home - exhausted from all the fun and wearing his sunglasses.

 

Jake is 7.

Dear Jake, 

You turned 7! Seven! Seven feels like such a big deal because all the cells in your body regenerate on different schedules but every 7 years ALL the cells have completely regenerated. That means you have your first "new" body since you were born into my hands. So amazing to think about. 

Seven years have flown by. But these past 6 months have seen an amazing jump in your reading abilities. You have loved reading the Secrets of Droon series, have started to get into the Hardy Boys, and graduated from the 'High Five' magazine to 'Highlights'. You also love anything related to Angry Birds.

Another area where you "graduated" was 1st grade - below you are with your English teacher, Mrs. Moore. You had Sra. Krekorian as your Spanish teacher and liked her but "she's strict" as you said. However, your ability to speak Spanish and mimic which ever Spanish regional dialect is being spoken to you is extraordinary. 

You love, love, love games. You ask Daddy and Mommy to play with you whenever we can - which is not as often as you like because you have a little brother who thinks it is the best thing in the world to come in and scatter the game all over. But when you do play, you love Sorry, Monopoly, Uno, chess, checkers, Apples to Apples Jr. version, and others. Guthrie taught you how to play farkle, and with that game you've shown how good your math is with all the counting and adding involved.

For your birthday dinner you wanted sushi. And you loved it. You also graduated to using adult size utensils during the months prior to turning 7.

You are such a sweet boy, as you always have been. You are well-loved by your classmates and always ready to play with friends and include those with you.
At home you continue to be a snuggler, and still like it when I sing you to sleep at night while running my fingers through your hair. I am aware that my days of you wanting me to do this are becoming numbered, so I savor this bedtime ritual.

We look forward to continue to seeing you grow. We love you so much, Jake.

Jake's 7th Birthday Ninja Party!

Jake was so excited for his 7th birthday party. He helped make the vanilla cupcakes for his party. We put whipped cream and a strawberry on top. 

 The party was held at Custer Park, not far from our house. It was one of those rain/sun/rain/sun days, and we weren't sure if we would get lucky or not. It was raining while we were setting up for the party, but then stopped for the party itself!

The merry-go-round was a huge hit. The party-goers were invited to dress as ninjas.

 Sensi-Wu father and ninja little brother.

 A butterfly fairy ninja named Porter.

 Stealth Skylar.

 The samurai family.

 Practicing ninja moves through the laser beams.

 Testing their mental skills via the game of looking at 12 objects on a tray and then listing as many as you can remember once the tray is covered again.

 Guess how many little ninjas in the jar.

 Slay the (pinata) dragon.

 Time for cupcakes!

Gramma is in this picture! Both Gramma and Papa were there and helped out greatly with the party and the picture-taking.

 Mom giving instructions for the treasure hunt. They were given clues and each clue had the name of a ninja on it. That ninja was responsible for reading that clue out loud to the group.

 Ninjas found their treasure at last - foam swords. Also watching Jake open presents.

 Practice swordfight!

 A snapshot of my makeup for my costume.

Playing on the swings after the end of the party, as the clean-up was happening.

 After, we went out to Laughing Planet for dinner and then to Sunny's for frozen yogurt!

 Snuggling my just-about-to-turn-7-year-old.

 Time to head to the car and home after a great afternoon.

Treasure Hunt Clues

Quick ninjas to the swings.
Another clue to you it brings.

Around and round and round you go.
Smooth ninjas go with the flow.

Down, down on the slide!
This one is a twisty ride.

Even ninjas need to pee.
Here use a toilet, not a tree.

Under the bridge is where you seek.
Watch for jumping, bouncing feet. 

Up and down go two heads.
Here look for the color red.

The sign shows this park has a name. 
You're getting close to the end of the game.

Home plate is where it's at.
See where you need to bat?

The treasure is close! You just need, 
Too look for the tree that grew from a seed.
The tree is now huge; branches all around.
The tree next to the tire swing on the playground.

End of First Grade for Jake!

 Jake posing with his English teacher, Mrs. Moore, and classmates.

 Taking a break and reading.

 Ryan was excited to be with all the big kids!

 Amy, one of our 2 wonderful room moms.

 With friend Hudson.

 Jake gets his certificate of achievement.

Ryan's buddy Silas was there also celebrating his older brother finishing 1st grade.