Turning Six

I’m a little behind in posting about Jack’s birthday, but our big guy is now six!  In honor of his sixth birthday, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at his last five birthdays.

Jack’s birth day.

First birthday.

Second birthday.

Third birthday.

Fourth birthday.

Fifth birthday.

And now, six!

Super Heroes

The boys vacillated for months about what they wanted to be for Halloween.  There was talk of astronauts and rocket ships,  Power Rangers, and mail carriers. I had grandiose ideas of creating cute costumes like last year.

But when the boys saw the super hero costumes at Target, they were sold. I was slightly bummed that I wouldn’t be making something. But truthfully, these costumes will get way more wear throughout the rest of the year. In fact, I had to hide them after we’d bought them so that they wouldn’t get worn out before Halloween!  I learned this two years ago when Jack wore his Spiderman costume nearly to shreds the month prior to Halloween. Remember when I discovered him sleeping in it?

And honestly, I can’t think of two more adorable or loving super heroes.

Gratitude

It seems that the practice of writing thank-you notes is dying. And that makes me kind of sad. Even in a digital age where we are constantly able to communicate with one another via text or email or Facebook, there is still nothing more meaningful than a physical, hand-written card.

I’ll freely admit, I’m not always the quickest at getting thank-you cards written, but I’m pretty good about making sure that they eventually get done.

And now that my boys are old enough, I think that it is important for them to participate in writing their own thank-you cards. It isn’t easy, but fostering grateful hearts, is worth it.

This year Emmett helped create thank-you cards for his birthday with watercolors. I wrote on the cards with white crayon, and Emmett used the watercolors to reveal the secret message. He loved it! And I think that the resulting art looks pretty cool.

Writing thank-you cards is such a simple way to show gratitude. So let’s not let this practice die, make it fun or make it creative or do whatever you need to do to make it happen. I believe it is worth it.

Launching Into Year Four

Last month, our not-so-little-anymore Emmett turned four.  Here is a look back at each year of our sweet Em-Bo’s life, as well as some details about how we celebrated his big day.

Brand New

 

1 Year Old

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Years Old

3 Years Old

And now, 4 years old!

Emmett awoke on his birthday to the floor of his room completely covered in balloons. Could anything be better for a four year old? 

As I mentioned in my last post, we’re kind of into rockets right now. So, when asked what kind of birthday party he wanted, Emmett chose rockets.

We had the party at a nearby park, where the kids played with stomp rockets, ate rocket cake, and got to help launch some model rockets!

I found the idea for these party favors on Pinterest. Just take a clear plastic cup, cut some colorful paper and place it inside. The blasters and top are just cut out paper.  I filled the inside with some fun surprises for the kids to take home with them.

It was lots of fun celebrating Emmett’s big day, and  lauching him into year four!

Blast Off!

Launching. Rockets. Is. Awesome. Whether you are little or big, there is something absolutely exhilarating about launching a small piece of plastic hundreds of feet in the air.  Pretty sure that Dad was just as excited as his boys about this adventure!

Such a fun way for kids to spend a morning. I definitely recommend rocketeering to all!

First Days of School

Summer’s end brought the beginning of school. Real school. All day every day school. Kindergarten. Jack was super excited for that first day of school, but not for the pictures. We did, however, manage to get some good ones.

The whole family walked Jack to school that first day.

Jack has his very own locker right outside of his classroom.

Greeting his teacher.

And already hard at work on his very first assignment of kindergarten.

And then it was Emmett’s turn.

Emmett was all smiles taking pictures at home. He saved the tears for drop off.

But once the tears were shed, the fun could begin. And now Emmett is officially a preschooler!

Playing Catch Up

My oh my, I blinked and it was October!  Here are some pictures from the end of the summer.

Boating with Grandma and Grandpa:

First Overnight Hike for Tom and Jack:

The Lake: