Six!!

Happy birthday to our happy, kind, even-tempered, empathetic first born!  Six already!!  Such an exciting day for our big guy and he loved every minute of it!!  

He awoke to balloons and streamers and begged to open "just one" present that morning!  We have always done presents at night but didn't really have a reason for doing so, so I think we have a new tradition.   After opening a Ninjago lego set and having a pancake breakfast he was off to school with Ninjago cupcakes to celebrate.   Unforrunately, Rich had to be out of town for the day which ended up being ok since that just meant we were able to celebrate an extra bonus day once he got home.  And, it was a bonus that Nani and Poppa came over to help with the celebration that afternoon.  We celebrated with pizza and more cupcakes that night and opened presents from them, which included another lego set that he got work on immediately. 

Rich got home the next night so he opened the rest of his presents and celebrated with more cupcakes!!    

We were supposed to have all of the family over on Saturday, the 10th, to watch the Army Navy game and to have another celebration for his birthday but Joseph actually woke up with strep throat.  He complained of a sore throat Friday night and woke up Saturday saying the same thing so Rich brought him to the doctor early that morning and sure enough it was strep.  After a round of antibiotics and a nap he was feeling back to his normal self, so we were able to celebrate Army's win (for the first time in 13 years!) and just enjoy a lazy afternoon before heading to Legoland the following day.

Joseph chose to go to Legoland as a family instead of doing a friend party so that is what we did for the second year in a row.  He has been wanting to go on the Ninjago ride since it opened last summer so he was so excited!!  Thankfully he had the antibiotics in his system for over 24 hours from the strep so on Sunday morning we were up and ready to go!  It was such a great day!! The park was SO empty, Charlotte slept for the first almost 4 hours, the weather was gorgeous and we just had such a nice day!  Joseph wanted to do the Ninjago ride first and they walked right on-Rich took all three of the kids (we were shocked about Julia wanting to go but she did!) and then they went on it again (although Julia decided she didnd't want to do it a second time.)  From there we just bounced around the park, going on rides and enjoying all of the holiday Lego fun.  We ended our day with a walk through the aquarium and then made our way home.  I almost hope that he continues to choose to do a fun family day like this for all of his future birthdays because it really has been a great tradition so far.

 See, Charlotte came, too!! She was such a trooper.  I think I took one for the team because she was up a lot the night prior but at Legoland she slept for the first four hours (from 10 to 1) and then was happy hanging out for a bit before falling back asleep until we got home.

 A quick photo op with Lego Santa.

 

 We attempted to do the 3D movie but less than a minute into it, Julia said that she wanted to leave, so I left with her and Charlotte while Rich stayed with the other two.  Joseph and Ella enjoyed it while Julia and I roamed around the lego building area to play.

Joseph is such a loving, kind, and funny kid.  He is always willing to help other and continues to be a great rule follower. He is respectful and honestly never really gives us a hard time...he does have a "tone" that he'll use which sometimes needs to be put into check but thankfully that doesn't happen too often. He has learned so much since starting Kindergarten and we are so proud of his progress-we love listening to him learning to read and to see his inventive spelling really take form.  He has a great memory which never ceases to amaze me and can still sit and listen to books forever, which has always been a favorite of his to do.  Julia still always calls him "budder" (brother), Ella still calls him "Jofush", Rich and I often refer to him as "buddy" and nothing from Charlotte yet, but soon enough! He is very affectionate towards Charlotte and she definitely lights up when he entertains her.  He is also very affectionate towards me, especially when it is just the two of us around-he is always willing to give hugs and kisses which I'll happily be the recipient of for as long as he's willing to give them.  

His other current six year old favorites consist of:  

Legos (especially Ninjago)

Playing outside-especially in the cul de sac with Brandon and Alex

Soccer

School-continues to say that he loves everything about school daily, especially his best buddy, Kai

Wrestling with Daddy or with anyone who is willing to do so

His sisters-he is such a doting older brother...seriously, so good with them!

Food-such a good eater!  Of course, he likes the typical 6 year old favorites (pizza, ice cream, etc) but also has no problem eating eggs with spinach, broccoli (with ketchup, of course) and downing milk

I guess I should also include the iPad.  He could sit in front of it/play with it forever but thankfully is really good about the limited screen time that we allow him which is one of the reasons why I think he enjoys it so much.  

We just love you so much Joseph Ducote and are so proud of the boy that you are turning into!  

We actually had one more celebration the following week!  Laura and the kids came up to watch Joseph's kindergarten winter performance (more on that in another post) so they came to the house after to have a mini celebration since the original one was cancelled due to his strep.  We celebrated with a scavenger hunt for Lego Nexo Knights and with cake, of course (ice cream cake per his request)!  It was a great way to finish out his week of birthday celebrations!  

 

 May all your wishes come true, buddy.  Love you!