Monday, July 18, 2016

Tate turned 7!

Our Tate turned 7! 

We threw him an early birthday party back in June so that he could celebrate with his kindergarten friends. So fun! Dinosaur themed. A backyard of kids playing. My favorite part was when they sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I had them sing it my favorite way.....as loud and as off-key as possible. I thought a few of them were going to bust a vein in their heads. It was loud. And hilarious.

My handsome game leader.
Dino Bones, Cavemen, Dino Eggs, Dino Claws, Fossil Cookies, and Jurassic Juice. Oh, and cupcakes. 
They were making dinosaur faces/noises here.
And then on his actual birthday, we had fun opening gifts and cards from family.
And we went out as a family to Buffalo Wild Wings, his choice. He LOVES eating wings...plus, they have tablets there that we let the kids play on.
All the way from Colorado!

Tate still loves chickens. Gma Vig crocheted this little guy for him.

Landon bought a digital camera at a garage sale awhile back.
Thanks to his Lego-loving Aunt and Uncle!
And Tate's one long lingering birthday request has been to go fishing. So, while we were in GR this past weekend doing a final cleaning of our house there, Adam arranged for him and Tate to go out on the boat with the semi-famous Stormin' Norman, fisherman extraordinaire. (Ok, he's not really semi-famous....but he's a fun guy we know).  They were picked up at 7 a.m and didn't return until 1 p.m.


Tate said it was the best day ever. 


At 7 this is what our Tate is like:
- He has a strong affinity for dinosaurs, sharks, sea creatures, Star Wars, Legos, and chickens. 
- He is doing great with reading and I think he's very ready for 1st grade. Because we had him do a Young 5's program, he feels like this preschool era of his life has lingered just a bit too long and he's really ready to go onto bigger things!
- He is showing to a be a bit sensitive at times.....focuses on hardships, a little bit of anxiety, life not being fair, and gets his feelings hurts. I pray a lot about knowing how to nurture him, make him feel safe, help him be tough, and for him to know his worth and how much he is loved. 
- He is such a hard worker! Especially when he is working with dad. But also does really well independently at times (mostly depends on the job and how motivated he is). He will pick up sticks and haul logs all day long. 
- Loves being outdoors and looking for frogs, turtles, lightning bugs, etc. 
- Still showing tendencies of being an introvert. He likes other kids and likes being in social settings, but a lot of times he will retreat and its clear he needs some time alone after busy days. 
- He is still the same heighth as his older brother, although his limbs are longer and I think he will end up being taller. He still needs to grow into his body and gain control over it. 
- He is adorably sweet, thoughtful......and a bit crazy. And we love him so very, very much and are grateful he's been given to us!