Lucky #7

Obey the sign...

 Yesterday, I went to the Museum of Life & Science with the Second Little Nguyen.  His first grade class took a field trip and he was thrilled, not only because his best friend, Harry, was in our group, but also because he thought his teacher planned the excursion as an early birthday present just for him!  HA!  The weather forecast was for a cold, rainy, just plain yucky day, so we did the outdoor things like the playground, animal exhibits and dinosaur trail first.  Then, we headed inside to play with the Keva blocks and warm up a bit.  While the boys were playing at some of the science exhibits, I saw this sign and a thought occurred to me:  Tomorrow, I won't have a six-year old anymore.



Last pic of six....worn out from a field trip Friday.



I was glad I had seen that sign because it made me think.  I spent the next hour or so observing every move my 6-year old made.

He's beautiful.  The softness of his skin, his dark hair, his goofy smile, his long eyelashes, his quietness....all of him is a gift.  It was a series of moments for me, some kind of teary, as I watched him move about with his friend.  So much has changed in a short six years and 364 days.  He has changed so much.  Although at the heart is the same little person in the tiny pumpkin hat that Chi laid in my arms on October 29, 2004,  each year with him has brought new gifts in him.  He's an almost dangerous combination of charming and curious, quiet and contemplative, tempting and reserved.  He's dangerous because he's got me.
Right there.  In his hand.  I admit it.

And I love him more than I can put into words.

All I can do is choke up and get teary when I think how full my heart is because of him.

 

7 gifts, one for each year.  We can't keep this up....

  

The Mouse with the new book



After a long field trip Friday, he warmed up with a bath and some snuggly new Transformer pajamas.  He cuddled up on the sofa in the living room while I was upstairs wrapping one last birthday present.  When I came downstairs, I found him asleep in the sofa.  Six was tired, I guess.  I could barely lift him to carry him upstairs to his bed.

Out came the birthday gifts and the riddles for what would surely be an early morning.  Benjamin got into it, too, making his birthday card for his brother, complete with seven Starburst candies. 

Pure excitement @ 6:30 AM!

Bumblebee is in the house!

And it was the early morning I had predicted.  I was up to put breakfast in the oven, and Birthday Boy was soon to follow!  I love these two pictures of him.  The look on his face is precious!  He was full of predictable, I-have-waited-364-long-days-for-this excitement.  And he dove into his gifts.



7 digits old.

  

Reading his birthday card

How hard can a 7-year old laugh?!

One of his favorite authors, of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie books, just released a new installment in the series -- If You Give a Dog a Donut.  So, we gave him a copy along with the cute little stuffed mouse character (in overalls!).  He loved that.  Along with a Transformer, some fun new t-shirts (Star Wars and Transformers), and a Star Wars LEGO DVD, he got some hockey tickets (well, WE got some hockey tickets!) and the piece de resistance, the long-awaited Sith Infiltrator LEGO set.  Of course, everything else was chopped liver compared to that.  Thank goodness it was the last gift because he dropped everything and went into an assembly trance for about two hours....

Reading a riddle...

...hockey tickets from Dad!



The long-awaited Sith Infilatrator.

 ...until Aunt Susan and Uncle John arrived with Dunkin Doughnuts and the LEGO Ewok Attack.  Then, the Birthday Boy ate a few birthday doughnut holes and laid into the Ewok Attack. 



And the Ewok Attack from Aunt Susan & Uncle John.

The rest of the little guy's day was much of the same.....a frenzy of building interrupted with brief spurts of snacking.  Build, eat, build, eat, build, eat.  Just the way, I am sure, he had dreamed of it being for the past 364 days!  Later on in the afternoon, we headed out to the Little Nguyen's school carnival (which, he was sure, had been planned for his birthday on purpose).   Everyone seemed to know it was his birthday, and he got lots of well-wishes from friends.



Seven candles on the cupcake.



Taking it all in.  I love this picture.

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing and sprinkles were the requested birthday treat.  It was a trick to fit all the candles on one cupcake, but we managed!  He is thrilled in this picture, that sweet smile and brown eyes registering pure excitement and joy.  His face is ablze with excitement.  I can only imagine what he was thinking.  I wonder if his thoughts were like those I had on that special day seven years ago when Chi placed this little pumpkin in my arms?
 I love this so much.



A big breath....



I do.  I admit it.  More than I can ever say.