Our Wes man turned SIX this month and I can hardly believe it! We had so much fun celebrating him for an entire weekend and he soaked up every ounce of birthday he could squeeze out of us.
I told the kids this year they could have parties because we are moving and we had big parties for Thad and Wes before we moved from Connecticut and they are still some of my fondest memories! I asked several times what he wanted the theme of his party to be and he couldn't decide and finally said that he wanted ME to decide and have it be a surprise for him...how cute is that?! He made sure to say that it should be something he likes (no Princess Sophia or unicorns), but that he was fine with whatever I wanted to do. That Wes of ours is just the cutest! Well, I decided on a Bug theme since Wes wants to be a bug scientist when he grows up and it all came together really well. He tried to get it out of me a few times, but I didn't give it up and Thad was even a good secret keeper! We were able to give him a fun surprise when he came home from school the day of his party, Friday, January 19. I love doing parties and celebrating on the day of birthdays or the closest to as possible, and this was the closest we could get. Brian was out of town no matter when we could do it and Liz's memorial ended up being Saturday, so I went with a Friday evening and it turned out great! I told him to make a guest list and I think there were 7 people on it. I mentioned a few more people and he said no, so we kept it small and had a lot of fun!
He checked out all his decorations...
And then friends started coming at 4 p.m. and I was so glad I had balloons on hand-
Cheap entertainment!
We started with snacks-
Played a few round of Pin the Spider on the Web-
We even played a few rounds of Pictionary and Eve was the best guesser! It was so cute!
They were a little restless and it was 50* outside, so they went and burned off some energy before cake and presents-
The cupcake cakes have become my fave for parties! So easy and everyone loved it!
Especially this cutest birthday boy-
Presents are always crazy with little ones, but the kids love seeing what they give and they were all so nice and generous. He is a lucky kid!
What a fun group we had!
Ethan.Thad.Wes.Evan.Eve
Harris.Zack.Olivia.Sydney
Thanks for being silly and helping us celebrate our FAVORITE 6-year-old!!!
On evening of Saturday, January 20, dad got home from his interview at the University of Wisconsin and would be home for 12 hours before heading to Ohio for an interview at OSU that would be on Wes' actual birthday, so we couldn't miss the opportunity to celebrate with him!
No need for a new cake!
And we also gave him his gift from us early and he was ECSTATIC!
A Kindle Fire!
And it's a good thing dad was here because there was quite a bit of set up to do and I would have made him wait until dad was around to do it, so it worked out perfect.
In Primary on Sunday they made sure to sing to him and help him fill loved and then his actual birthday rolled around on Monday, January 22 and we had another awesome day!
I offered to bring him lunch from wherever he wanted, but he said he wanted the marinara sticks from school and I did not argue with that. Eve and I went and had lunch with him and it was great. We headed back to the school at the end of the day to pass out treats to his class and that was also super easy for me! I told him I would make cookies or bring Round Rock Donuts or whatever he wanted and he chose Kit Kats. Again, I wasn't going to make things harder for myself and was happy to take those candies over and pass them out to his class!
Wes' teacher, Ms. Liles, is so great and has seen the goodness in him just like I hoped she would!
Most of the celebrating had been done, but he came home to a present from the Henries-
And Grandma Teresa and Grandpa Russ-
He still likes cars and monster trucks A LOT if you can't tell!
That evening we headed to Target for him to exchange some gifts from his party and he came home and then to Chick-Fil-A for him to use his gift card he got from a friend at his party for our dinner that night. It was just the kids and me and we had a lot of fun!
Afterwards we headed home for a quick FHE and cake and ice cream with the Brennans and that was also a blast and the perfect way to mix it up without dad home on the night of his birthday. Even though we had done a lot of celebrating I didn't want it to feel like a normal day, and I think that was achieved!
(You better believe I just kept using that cake!)
May all your 6-year-old wishes come true, my perfect, red-headed boy!
Six things we LOVE about Wes-
6. Those freckles. I may have said this before, but I'll say it again. Those cheeks and under eyes covered in freckles is one of my favorite things to see every day!
5. His tender heart. He was upset about an ant we were going to kill in our house and then a couple days later got choked up about the thought of us moving and asked, "Do we really have to move?"
4. Having favorites. I love how much he loves monster trucks and cars and the color blue.
3. His ability to excel. He doesn't make a show about much and a lot of time doesn't realize he's excelling, but he does. At reading, being a good friend, running fast, drawing well, remembering things.
2. Caring comments. It is not unusual to hear Wes telling me or someone in the family how much he loves them or their hair or nail polish or something they made. He notices things and doesn't let it pass him by without saying something.
1. His CARING heart. This boy goes out of his way to care for me and others. Recently while he was brushing my hair he asked what kind of music I liked the most. I couldn't really think of an answer but he was just asking so he could turn on whatever I wanted to listen to! I also asked him to get me a band aid and he didn't just get it, but he unwrapped it and was ready and willing to help me put it on! That is just scratching the surface, too, his caring heart will take him far!
We sure love you, Wes man!! Happy 6th birthday!
