Happy 6th Birthday Jack!

So today we celebrated Jack's actual sixth birthday. We had a great day. We started with breakfast which included Shredded Wheats. This is one of Jack's favourites, but we don't buy it often, if ever before, so he was really pleased with this.

We then went to Willows Farm and had a good time playing in the indoor playbarn. As a special treat we tried ice skating there for the first time which Jack has been longing to do. I think the general consensus was that he liked it if he had two blades on each skate, but when we upgraded him to one blade per skate he spent more time on the ice instead of upright and was not as keen.

Jack on ice:

Jack with one blade falling on ice:

This is a bit harder....

Theo sitting on ice...

Two blades is much easier...

We ended the day with a family trip to Pizza Hut, which is starting to become a family birthday tradition. It was a lot of fun, not to mention the ice cream factory at the end which was an extra bonus. While at dinner we had Jack make a list of everything that he accomplished or learned in the last twelve months. Here is his list with some additions by Theo:

• play football/soccer
• stop thumb sucking
• read
• write
• play guitar
• 2 Turkish words
• eat cucumbers
• lost four teeth
• Jacob's twelve sons
• moved up to Good News Club at church
  
  All three kids at Pizza Hut: 



Before heading to bed for the night, we took his weight and height measurements. Our six year old is 51 pounds and 3 feet 11 inches. Not too bad considering he wasn't even seven pounds six years ago!

Jack's 6th Birthday Party

We celebrated Jack's sixth birthday this past Saturday and had a great time. We had a 'father and son' party where we invited three little boys and their dads over and played a whole host of games. We started with a four on four sided football game. This was super fun, especially considering that it allowed Jack to use his birthday present, which was a football goal for the back garden. We played the Brits versus the Americans. One of the boys invited was both American and British, so he and his dad played on Jack and Charles's team. The game ended in a shootout with the Americans eeking out the win 2-1.

We then headed inside for a 'pub' quiz. This is the British word for lot of rounds of various random games. We had three rounds of trivia: one general round, one music round, and one book round. We also had a round of mad-libs (where the boys each filled in their own with their dad and read them back to the group), a marshmallow and straw tower building session, and a blindfold the Dad and have the son instruct them to a marshmallow round. I think fun was had by all - both sons and dads! We then ended with pizza and cake which was good fun. Here are some pictures to enjoy from the night:

Charles, Jack, and Theo in front of soccer goal:

The dads and sons making marshmallow and straw tower (tallest wins!):

The boys at the party (Theo, Noah, Harry, Jos, and Jack)

And the singing:

Theo, our lover

Yesterday when we were running into Sainburys to get a few things, Theo announced that he thought it was going to rain. I kind of dismissed it verbally and we went into the store.

About 20 minutes later when we headed back out of the store we were greeted by a heavy downpour (I now think Theo felt a few drops on the way in, but I may be wrong!). The following conversation occurred:

Jack: Well done Theo on getting the rain right. Maybe you should be a rain man.
Erin: A meteorologist, someone who predicts the weather?
Jack: Yes, a meteorologist.
Erin: That would be interesting. I have always thought being a meteorologist would be fun.
Theo: Yes, but I can't right now because I am too little.

Long Pause

Theo: I think I want to be a lover.
Erin: That sounds interesting. (With a bit of hesitation) What does a lover do?
Theo: A lover doesn't hit or push and is always very kind to people just like Jesus would want.
Erin: That sounds like a great thing to be Theo. I think you should be a lover on top of whatever you decide to be when you are older.

Theo nods in agreement.

Name that Tune Part 2

Here is Jack's next 'known' guitar piece. He has played a few in between that aren't well known. I really appreciate Jack's desire to count the measures out which you will see in how his mouth moves during the performance and at the end we get a wrong note and his head shakes in disagreement! Guesses please...

Time to Celebrate...

Last week we went to Krispy Kremes to celebrate. Why I hear you ask? We went to celebrate the week anniversary of Jack successfully stopping sucking his thumb. Jack came to me one night and said he thought it was about time he stopped sucking his thumb, especially with his new teeth coming through. He asked me to put a plaster/band-aid on it for about a week to remind him not to suck it, but other than that he did it all by himself. I am really proud of him! And yes, before I get any comments, I know it was years before I gave up thumb sucking, and yes I know that giving him donuts is just transferring one dental problem to another, but it was a fun treat!  :) 

Jack showing his excitement:

And Theo and Addie got to help celebrate: