Luke Skates

Daddy took Luke out to a kids skating clinic this weekend.  Luke seemed to enjoy it ... and he did really well!

Luke's 6th Birthday

On Luke's birthday, we spent some time with many of his school friends at the park...

We met Daddy out for dinner and then went for ice cream....

...and Luke got an air hockey table from Mommy& Daddy

Luke, you are an amazing 6 year old boy; sweet, kind, funny, smart, curious.  We feel incredibly blessed to be your mommy and daddy.  Thank you for being you.  We love you more than words!

Luke's All-American Pool Party

Luke wanted to host a patriotic-themed party for his 6th birthday.  This was entirely his idea, but the timing of his birthday could not be more perfect for scoring lots of great 4th of July decor. 

After much discussion around what the kids would actually "do" at an "American themed" party, we decided that it was in our best interest to entertain Luke's friends not at our home, but at the Country Club Pool.  We knew from the experience of Luke's 4th birthday, that this would make it fun for all of us (adults included).

I loved the Luke helped me shop for the decorations and played a part in the planning.  It turned out to be one of my favorite parties to shop and decorate for.  The colors were simple and looked great.

Traditional "American" food was served by the club (hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese), but we added in a few special red, white, and blue touches.

Luke really loved the cake that I made for Mia's Rainbow Party, so we created an All-American version of that cake for his party.

Luke invited quite a large group of kids from his class this year, as well as some of our favorite family friends.  I prepared him for what I thought was the inevitable issue of families taking summer vacations and kids not being in town for his mid-July party ... well, I was completely wrong!  Every person Luke invited came to his party this year, which made it even more special and fun!

The kids seemed to have a great time swimming and eating (although, most would have preferred to continue swimming and skip the eating all together.  Thankfully, the lifeguards have mandated breaks, so we timed the food and cake around the adult swim times).  Luke's guests took home American flag towels and packed bags of treats from the treat table.  Some of us stayed late into the afternoon and just enjoyed celebrating and swimming with Luke.

 Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate 6 with our boy.  He had a perfect day!

Kicking Off the Birthday Week

We kicked off Luke's week of birthday celebrations this evening by allowing him to open some gifts from our immediate family before the onslaught at his party tomorrow.

A pitching machine from Grandma and Grandpa...

...and a bean bag chair (cover to come)!

Some fun space themed decor for Luke's room from Great Grammy and Papa

 And a ping pong table from Day and Paw (Luke's request when asked what by Day what he would most like)

So many thoughtful gifts already ... such a lucky boy!

East Coast Trip: Baseball Game

We finished off our trip with an evening at the ballgame with lots of NJ family.  Although the baseball was fine, the real highlights were hanging with the big girl cousins, the fireworks show ... and the cotton candy, of course!