jaden’s 6th birthday

This post is two months late but better late than never, right?  I take the most amount of pictures during the months of November to January, so I end up having hundreds upon thousands of pictures to edit and sort.  So Jaden’s birthday pictures got lost somewhere in the sea of holiday and January photo project images.

For his birthday, we threw him a small party at a local roller skating rink, Skate Station.  We let him invite a handful of his closest friends for skating, bouncy houses, go-kart racing, rock climbing, and arcade games.  It was so much easier to just purchase an all inclusive party package and let the venue take care of the party.  Last year, I handmade everything for Jaden’s 5th birthday and it literally took me weeks to recover.  This year, I didn’t even intend to have a theme but two days before the party, Jaden requested a Lego theme.  Luckily, we have a ton of legos so the night before the party I built the letters of his name out of legos and added circles and name tags to the party bags to look like lego bricks.  Easy peasy!  As always, I never get to take many pictures when hosting an event but Jaden had a blast which is all that really matters.

Dearest Jaden,
Six years ago you made me a mommy and taught me what it means to love unconditionally.   You have grown to be such an intelligent and caring little man.  You are so smart that I worry I may not be able to keep up in a few years.  I’m already having to google answers to your questions (like why does South Africa have three capitals?  To be perfectly honest, I still don’t understand why but you seemed happy with the answer I read to you from Wikipedia.)  And sometimes, you teach me random facts about the world that I never knew (like how a groundhog is also called a woodchuck or that there are 5 oceans in the world – I had never even heard of the Southern Ocean!).  You are currently obsessed with geography and can name almost ALL of the countries (and their capitals!) of the world.  History fascinates you and it’s a constant struggle for me to find books about ancient Greece or the Roman empire that is age appropriate for you.  Your desire and enthusiasm to learn never ceases to amaze me.
This year, you finished Kindergarten in one semester and started 1st grade after the winter break.  I was nervous at first about you being the youngest in the class but you’ve adjusted so well and seem to be thriving.  You currently take mixed martial arts and basketball, but have also shown interest in learning music and new languages. I wish I felt more comfortable speaking Korean so I could teach you but I’m thinking Spanish is the way to go.  Please don’t ever lose your passion for learning.
You’ve never been too good about expressing your emotions but recently you’ve started to write me letters to tell me how you feel.  Your thank yous and apologies always come in written form and I think it is the sweetest thing ever.  I will forever cherish and save your little notes and letters.
You are the type of older brother I’ve always wished for.  Although you think your sister is a giant germ-ball (you will never drink out of the same cup as her), you save half of all your favorite treats for her. You help her put on her socks and shoes in the morning and always try to cheer her up when she’s sad.  You read her favorite books to her and with great exasperation, you’ve even tried to help her learn to read.
I’m so thankful to call you my son.  You are the silliest and most knowledgeable six year old boy I know. Sometimes I look at you and see a reflection of myself.   Like me, your eyes turn into little crescent moons when you smile and it warms my heart to know we share the same features.
I love you to the moon and back…
Love,
Mommy