Who Authorized This?

How can my baby boy be 6 already?  Who let that happen?

The morning began with a few snuggles & a selfie.

Because it was a school day, we started with presents!

That night we had Lego cake.....

And then that weekend, we headed to The City for some family fun.  

His favorite part was Go Karts!  

At 6, Justin lights up a room.  He has a large vocabulary, enjoys reading, wakes up happy every morning, and is enthusiastic about almost everything except vegetables.  He loves to run and jump, is a Mario master, can ride a 2-wheeler, is learning to swim.  His favorite colors are red, orange, and green, he has requested high tops for his next pair of shoes, and would probably live very happily on just string cheese.    

U6 Soccer

J has been SO EXCITED to start soccer this Spring.  After accompanying us to Spring and Fall soccer for his big sister, he was more than ready to have his own turn.  Due to some schedule changes, last Saturday brought a practice instead of his first game.  Despite the 26 degree temperatures, he was a trooper!

His first game FINALLY arrived yesterday.  They played 4-on-4, with 4, 8 minute quarters.  Or something close to that.  

The Orange Warriors started with a team cheer. 

It was a little warmer last night, but not by much (37 degrees).

Despite being the littlest guy on the team, he was a fast runner, and not afraid to get after the ball. 

And he scored 2 goals!

The Warriors prevailed with a score of 15-3.  

Go Soccer!

5!

My baby boy is 5!  

He had a big birthday to celebrate, and we started at 6 am to open presents before Daddy headed to work.  

After school, a nap, first day of soccer practice, and dinner at Panera, we headed home to FINALLY have cake.  

Yep, he's 5!

Saturday brought his PARTY.  He's been talking about it for 2 months.  

Of course it was a MARIO theme.  

Thank you Pinterest, for giving me lots of fun ideas. 

I made Mario "hats" with red foam visors and a sheet of white foam. 

They also decorated wooden race cars. 

Went home with a Mystery Box filled with stickers, Mario fruit snacks, a kazoo, and a gold coin. 

And enjoyed Mario cupcakes! 

They did a little coloring.....

The #1 party request was for a pinata.  

Amazingly, it took about 20 minutes to beat it open.  

Diving for candy...

One of his pals brought chocolate moustaches for everyone - so cool!

The boys played "Pin the Moustache on Mario" (and their interest lasted exactly 1.5 seconds). 

We ended the day with "Stomp the Chomps".

The balloons were crazy strong, and it took them ages to pop!

Happy Birthday J!

An Overdue Birthday Interview

How old are you?  Four!

Did you have a good Birthday?  Yes.

What did you do on your birthday? Ummmmm........ nothing.  No, wait, I went to DisneyWorld!

What did you do there?  Buy stuff. 

What kind of stuff?  Like a pirate Mickey doll and pirate cars and that’s it.

What's your favorite thing to eat?: Grilled cheese, mac & cheese, and pineapple. And cake. And cupcakes.

What food don't you like?: Tots with cheese, bugs, green beans and peas.

Who are your friends?  Owen and Ethan and Jon and AJ and Bella.

What kind of stuff do you like to do?  Play with my toys and color pictures.

Do you have a favorite toy?  Yeah.  I’m gonna tell you what it is.  I’m gonna show you.  I’m gonna bring it out here.  Here!  My boat, and my planes, and Megamind.

What’s your favorite part of the day?  Going to preschool and staying home with you. 

What do you like about preschool?  Playing with my friends. 

What else do you want to say now that you are 4?  Yeah.  That I like baby eggs. 

What are baby eggs?  They are bird eggs.

What do you like about them?  ‘Cause they crack.

And I have one more question because you forgot to say what's my favorite show.  Hmm.... I'm thinking... Disney Junior, like I went to Disney World.  And I like Fresh Beat Band.  

A Day Out with Thomas

Big J has been obsessed with trains for months now.  I think it happened when we visited Grandma & Grandpa this summer.  A kind neighbor brought over some of her grandson's trains for him to play with, and he was hooked.  When we returned home, he took a keen interest in any Thomas the Tank Engine show on Netflix, and he began his train empire with a metal train from TJ Maxx.

He now has enough track to build the Transcontinental Rail twice over, and he takes great pleasure in lining up his trains throughout the living room every morning.  So when I heard that Greenfield Village was hosting a Thomas-centric event, I knew we had to be there.

His first glimpse of Thomas coming down the rails.

Waiting for our turn to ride with Thomas. 

He's coming!

So excited!

Riding the REAL Thomas. 

Meeting Sir Topham Hatt.

Riding in a vintage car.

Lego Thomas

Thomas tattoo

Thomas Storytime

As usual, I wish we could have stayed longer at Greenfield Village.  But after 3 hours, he was almost Thomas'd out. In addition to riding the full-sized Thomas, there were model railroads to see, live music, a Thomas gift shop, storytelling, coloring stations, bubbles, games, sidewalk chalk, and more.  This was in addition to the usual Greenfield Village goings-on.   If you have a Thomas fan in your family, I would highly recommend taking part in one of these events.  

It was so great to load him back in the car clutching his new Thomas lantern and his Thomas coloring sheets.  He just sat there and stared at his lantern, and then every once in a while he'd squawk about his tattoo, or Sir Topham Hatt, or riding the REAL Thomas.  You could just see him trying to process it all through his big brain and make sense of what an awesome day it was.  

I hope he will remember it for years!

Multi-Tasker

It's a step stool!

It's extra seating!

It's a lunch table!

I love the Bekvam Stool from Ikea.