Turning 6

I can't believe what a big boy lives in my house now!  We had a lot of fun leading up to his birthday.  A few weeks in advance we hit up the party store to figure out the birthday party theme.  He liked the goody bag trinkets of a Power Rangers cup, TMNT slime, and a Transformer skate board.   When we finally went to Target to pick out a cake, they only had Transformers and it wasn't very cool.  He did love the Star Wars cake with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker toys with light up lightsabers, so he picked that and we changed the theme. 

We made our annual trip to the mall for birthday pictures and a ride on the carousel.   My son is an expert negotiator, so we also had a Baskin-Robbins smoothie as dessert AND he got to pick an early birthday gift:  Build-a-Bear.  Iron Bear is his new BFF and has been a great addition to the family.   I just love that the little boy that seems so mature someday is a little boy who loves to cuddle his teddy bear at night.

On his actual birthday, we had donuts for breakfast and let him open the toys from us before school.  We gave him a bigger tennis racquet, a set of flashlights, and a Halo toy, which he has been coveting since Christmas.   Of course he wanted to stay home to assemble his Halo set, but I promised him I would pick him up from YMCA early.

I worked from home for the day and got to walk William to school and be the PTA greeter.  All birthday kids have their name called in morning announcements to come get a sticker and pencil from the principal.    I was very excited to get to see him at school.  He was excited to see me, too!

After school, Grandpa Roger and Grandma Joni arrived from their long drive and brought another round of gifts.  More Halo!  And another Nerf gun!  Yay!

After dinner at William's choice (Buffalo Wild Wings), we had birthday cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday.  What a great day with our 6-year old!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a lot of family fun for Memorial Day Weekend!  On Friday evening, we went to the Kane County Cougars baseball game where it was Star Wars Night.  They had a lot of characters out for pictures including Storm Troopers, Boba Fett, Darth Vader and Emperial Guards.   William was terrified by them and could not be talked into a photo.   He won free tickets (and hot dog and lemonade and backpack) for participating in a reading program at school.   The game and the concessions were a lot of fun, as was the people watching.   Lots of people were in Star Wars t-shirts and a few were in more elaborate costumes. 

Saturday we had a fantastic cookout with our neighbors.  We had six families and the kids all played together so well that the adults got to sit and drink and chat with each other while the kids ran wild through the back yard.

Sunday we ventured to the Sci-Tech Museum to check everything out.  William went during winter camp and said he really loved it.   He and I went to check it out and bought an annual pass so we can go there a few times and also get into more children's museums and science museums for free this summer when we're traveling!

Monday we headed to Main Event to play at the arcade with our neighbor buddy, Dylan, who had been asking for William to go with him to "Haunted Mine." I had no idea what that was going to be, but it's a 4-D sort of "ride" where you feel like you're riding through a roller coaster type game together.  The seats jump and move and there is a fan blowing on your face.  I rode it, too, and for some reason your ears get stuffed up, too. Not sure the physics on that. . . .  

May in the Suburbs

A random assortment of pictures and memories I don't want to forget:

 

This drawing came home after a weekend spent watching John do yard work.  Translation:  In first grade I want to learn to use a chain saw.

 

We've had a lot of rain.   I have a similar picture from three years prior when he got this umbrella for his birthday from Uncle Ryan.

One Saturday we had our neighbor's Frozen birthday party in her back yard, followed by a soccer game, followed by a birthday party at Brunswick Zone for best buddy from daycare, Liam. 

 

 

 

 

We got a backless booster to have for the rental car on vacation.   He was so excited to ride with the seatbelt instead of the high back booster and 5-point harness he usually uses.  I don't see any advantage with his height and weight to break down our high back boosters into backless or switch out the harness for a seatbelt, so we'll just keep him in the other chairs for now since he hasn't complained. 

Legoland in My Home

We will be venturing to LEGOLAND in a few short weeks for our summer vacation.  But it feels like we're already living it!  William's collection is primarily Star Wars themed, but he mixes and matches from all of his sets to make some pretty awesome toys!  Check out the Storm Trooper riding the jet ski on the AT-AT.

Montreal - Old Port

While in Montreal, I had two days to tour and enjoy the history.  On my arrival day it was a beautiful, sunny Sunday, so I walked the 10 minutes from my hotel to the waterfront to see all the merrymaking at the Old Port.  After a week of meetings, I stayed on for a Guidatour walking tour of Old Montreal.  After having been out in the area each evening for dinner with my group, I thought it would be a waste.  But the stories of the guide were great, and I highly recommend the tour. 

 

First stop was a block from my hotel.  The city square in from of the Notre Dame Basilica was an interesting contrast.  Beautiful church facing the Bank of Montreal (which our guide said is beautiful inside but was closed on a Saturday).  The statue you see in the bottom left of a French woman holding a poodle (facing the bank) is contrasted with the English man holding a bulldog (facing the church) and is relatively new.  The guide said it was a church versus state statement and she wasn't very thrilled to have it there.  Both statues have pig noses.

The light colored pavement is the outline of the original church.  The current church (which is 200 years old) is oriented toward the water and the aisle to the altar slopes down following the natural curve of the city toward the river.   Celine Dion was married here.

 Chapel - which was rebuilt after arson - stands behind the main church.  This is where most people who aren't Celine Dion would get married since the basilica is too large.

 Old Port - I'm standing on the quay looking back toward the city and the market.  Couldn't resist snapping a picture of this little train and the other interesting buildings.  I particularly loved the contrasts of new, old, and really old.