Happy {6th} Birthday, Conner!
The End of a Very BLESSED January
A week ago today, Conner Clay turned SIX years old. This guy is all. boy. He loves running, jumping, climbing (trees, playsets, furniture, you name it), Power Rangers, Star Wars, superheroes, and wrestling with Daddy. He is such a blessing to me. When I head downstairs to run on the treadmill, he pops on his tennis shoes and runs laps in the basement too. {We celebrate our hard work with a chocolate peanut butter protein shake afterward, of course.} He is my little helper in the kitchen and loves to help me bake. He is very artistic and spends hours every day on his LEGO creations or Perler bead designs. Conner pours into others by giving them his drawings in an effort to cheer them up, and, on his own, he decided to save up his money to help families in need by giving them animals through Heifer International. When asked in his annual birthday interview whom is his best friend (I was sure he'd name one of his brothers), he paused for a while and answered quietly, "God." {Pardon me while I mop up my heart, which just burst out of my chest from love-overload.} This guy.
Conner opened his birthday gifts from us before Dan had to leave for work. His favorite gift was a big bucket of Perler beads, which he set to work on right away.
After a laid-back morning of crafting and school, we met Dan for lunch at Culver's. I tried to be super-efficient by ordering at the drive-through and carrying our food inside to eat (thus avoiding a long wait at the table), but I accidentally ordered a hamburger for Conner instead of chicken tenders, and, well, he was the birthday boy... And Theo was tired and crying, so it wasn't exactly a relaxing meal.
Because Conner was having a "friend" birthday party, we didn't go out for dinner, but I did tell Conner that I would make him anything he wanted for his birthday dinner. His choice?
A triple-batch of "cheesy shells." {Easy dinner = Score for Mama!}
After dinner, grandparents came over to celebrate Conner's big day with cookie cake, ice cream, and more gifts.
Conner's "friend" birthday party was the following Saturday, and I have to admit that I was terrified a little nervous about having seven of Conner's six and seven-year-old buddies (not to mention our other children and one of Shane's friends) at our house for a party, but it actually turned out really well! They played Hot Potato and Pin-the-Dino-Charger-on-the-Power-Ranger (you know, like Pin the Tail on the Donkey). They all swore that they couldn't see through the blindfold, but all eight of them miraculously placed the dino-charger perfectly onto the poster, so we had to call it a tie! (Liars! Bahahaha!) They filled up on pizza, applesauce, cake, and ice cream.
Then it was time for more games. We had a relay race with the kids balancing wooden eggs on spoons, and then we played Conner's favorite... the fishing game! For the water, we hung a blue sheet across the doorway of our laundry room. My mom was stationed behind the sheet with a pile of prizes. To play, each child donned one of my dad's big plaid shirts and a floppy fishing hat. He was given a fishing pole made from a dowel, twine, and a clothespin. He "cast" the line by tossing the clothespin over the sheet, and then he (tried to) wait patiently for a tug. He pulled in the line to find either a silly gift (like a flip-flop, and old sock, or a message in a bottle [the message read, "Try Again"]) or a "good" gift (a Hot Wheels car and some candy). Each party guest caught two silly gifts, which they threw back, followed by the good gift. Conner looooooved this game, and the boys were just dying to see who (or what!) was behind the curtain!
We then headed to the basement to play a mummy wrap game, which was probably too advanced for this crowd. Dan and I each assisted a team, but we had one team without an adult. Luckily, that team was Shane and Logan's team. Poor Shane desperately wanted to win, but Logan thought it was funny to tear off the toilet paper as soon as Shane put it on him. Good thing Shane's a good sport!
Next, the whole gang trooped out to the garage, because it was time to hit the pinata! Conner was suuuuuuper-excited for this, and it had been one of his most prominent birthday requests. Conner was first in line to hit it, though, and he smashed it in just a few hits before any of the other children had a turn! Dan tried to resuscitate the pinata with some duct tape, but, alas, it was a goner. We then allowed the children to just beat it on the ground, which, as I'm sure you can imagine, was quite a sight. They all seemed to have a good time with it though!
Many of the boys played an impromptu round of hide-and-seek in the basement, and then it was time to go! I didn't have much of a voice by the end of the party, but the kids sure seemed to have a lot of fun. Shane said he wants to have a party like Conner's... It's a good thing his birthday isn't until May! Dan and I need a break from birthdays for a while!
Conner's friend party concluded our crazy-busy January. Every time I felt overwhelmed by all we had to do last month (a baptism and two birthdays, on top of caring for a 3-month-old baby and homeschooling), I reminded myself that these things are all blessings. We are blessed to have a sweet baby to welcome into God's family. We are blessed to celebrate our boys' three-year and six-year birthdays. We are blessed to have great healthcare and the ability to take them to the doctor for their wellness visits. (Where we weren't surprised to find out that Logan is in the 97th percentile for height and 96th percentile for weight. The kid is huge!)
How was your January, friends? Was your month filled with blessings too? I know that I'm excited to share some recipes, organizing tips, and chat about style in the near future!
