Evan is SIX

We have been up to our eyeballs in birthday and end-of-the-school-year fun around here. Evan turned SIX yesterday. So hard to believe. Six years ago we were sitting at a Longhorn Steakhouse timing contractions before heading over to my granny's house for my cousin's birthday celebration. At 6:19 the next morning, the most beautiful baby I had ever seen was laid in my arms, and my love for that sweet baby has grown every day since. Even though he is not a baby anymore. Now, he is a handsome, sweet, sensitive, pensive, smart, inquisitive, cuddly, and caring big boy.



We had his birthday party for his friends at his karate studio. The kids had a blast. We really didn't know what to expect, but we were pleased with what we got! The kids started out with some warm ups, and then played games, watched demonstrations, etc.



Here are some pictures of the warm-up. The sensai(s) taught them some stretches and animal poses after letting Evan stand up front with them to "bow in".





Here are the kids watching one of the weapons demonstrations. And some pics of the instructors demonstrating weapons and breaking boards. I was a little leery of having 16 kindergarten boys sitting down during a birthday party, but they were fascinated with the demonstrations, so they didn't seem to mind sitting. (And it was never for long.)

The kids also got to "spar" with one another using padded weapons. Evan sparred with his buddy Hayden and with his sister. Pressley gave it her all, but she got smoked....

One of the last games they played before cake was called "drag racing." As you can see, the kids partnered up and each held onto a short piece of canvas as one dragged the other from one end of the floor to the other. Some of the partners were a little unequal in their sizing, and you'll see below, Sensai Doug had to push Pressley's 7 year old cousin, Abby, while Pressley pulled her.

Finally, it was time for cake. Evan wanted a Power Ranger theme for this year's party. He didn't just want one power ranger; he wanted three. I told him I wasn't making any promises, but that I would give it a shot. I think it turned out pretty well, but it is definitely one of the toughest ones I've done. Good thing I keep getting better, because apparently these kids are going to keep pushing me to my cake-decorating limit!

Happy Birthday, sweet Evan. We could not be more proud of the big boy our baby has become.

May I just brag on Evan some more?

Evan had his last karate test of the school year on Saturday, and he earned a second yellow stripe. That means that the next time he tests, he should become a yellow belt. He has learned so much and enjoyed himself so much in karate this year. Our last karate "hoorah" will be on Saturday, when he has his birthday party at his karate dojo. It will be fun to see him let loose and just have fun with his friends.

After the karate test, we had to hustle on over to the soccer field for the last soccer game of the season. Evan played really well...again. He has really embraced soccer this season and enjoyed it so much more than seasons past. His team had an end-of-the-season pizza party immediately following the game, and the kids all had so much fun together. The team presented the coach with a ball that they had all signed and a gift certificate to say thanks. And the coaches presented each of the players with a medal. While handing out the medals, the coaches gave Evan a little something extra.... a new nickname. They said they had decided to call Evan "en feugo" because he had been on fire for the last several games! Yay, Evan.

Well, that is all for tonight. I am tired. I'll brag later on how well both of the kids did in their preschool music program last Wednesday night and how proud I was of Evan at his first practice swim meet last night. Or maybe I'll just wait to brag after the first actual meet next week.

I will say this: I know I haven't said too much about Pressley in the last couple of posts. But, she is just as spunky as ever. She was devastated this past Sunday when I got to wear my "slippers" (which is what she calls my peep-toe heels) and she didn't have any slippers to wear to church. She pouted and fussed and fumed all morning. I told her if she would just wear her Sunday shoes or her sandals to church without further whining, I would take her shopping for some new church shoes she would love. So, she woke up this morning and wanted to put on a church dress for the shopping trip. I resisted and suggested that we save church dresses for church and find her something more comfortable for shopping. Through crocodile tears she told me, "But mommy, I don't want to be comfortable! I want to be beautiful!!" Oh, boy. Are we in for it or what?

I don't recall how I eventually prevailed, but she did wear a more suitable dress for shopping. We found a pair of shoes that she seemed to love, so I asked her if those shoes were going to make her happy next Sunday morning when I put on my "slippers." "Yes," she said. "Humongous happy."

I'll believe a drama-free Sunday morning when I see it.

Soccer and Art

And, yes. To answer your question, that is the cleverest (ok, most clever) title I could come up with tonight. It's been a long day.

You may wonder why it has been a while since I've posted...or you may not have noticed. Maybe you've been too busy to notice. Maybe you have a schedule that now includes gymnastics, soccer, swimming, and karate, with swimming being every night of the week. Oh, wait. That's me.

So tonight should have been swimming from 5 - 5:45 and then a soccer game (to make up for one that was rained out earlier this season) at 6:00. I did not know until I went to the bus stop today that swimming is now 6 days a week as opposed to the 3 days it has been for the last 2 weeks. Apparently the only reason it was 3 days the first 2 weeks is because Agnes Scott charges us for lane time and we didn't want to have to pay more than necessary. But now that swim practice has moved to the neighborhood pool, they can make us be there as often as they want.

I asked Evan if he wanted to go to swimming for 30 minutes before his soccer game, and would he have enough energy to play soccer if he went to swim practice. He said he wouldn't have enough energy for both and that was that.

So we went to the soccer game only, which was fabulous by the way. Evan is just kickin' some major booty out there this season. So much so, that after he had scored his 4th goal about 15 minutes in (he would go on to score 6), the parents starting saying things like, "Boy, Evan is on fire tonight!" and "What did you feed that kid for dinner?" (Why, yes, he does appear to be on fire. Too bad I didn't think to feed him dinner before the game. Just think what he might have done...)

I had planned to take the kids to Moe's for dinner after the game because daddy is out of town, and what mom do you know that cooks when daddy is out of town? However, when the good moms arrived at the soccer game with the kids that were still wet from swim practice, they informed me that tonight was Art Portfolio night at school and they had packed dinner for their families so they could eat in the car and go straight to Art Night. To which I replied..."Uhhh. That was tonight??"

Well, you'll be happy to know that we made it to Moe's for a super-fast burrito (For Evan, there is no other kind. I've never seen a kid suck down a Joey Jr. as fast as this kid can. But I digress.) and still made it to art night. Granted, the hallways were somewhat deserted when we arrived, but the doors were unlocked and there was art on the walls. So, by my standards, we made it.

Below you'll find a couple few photos of my multi-talented eldest child. MVP on the soccer field (according to me) and budding artist:

Oh, and this is the butterfly - one of many - that kept landing on me during the soccer game. I know most people think butterflies are all peaceful and tranquil and beautiful, but have I mentioned before that they creep me out? I mean really creep me out. I may never recover from that one visit to the butterfly house at Calloway Gardens. [shudder] It is a wonder that I remained composed and took this photo (of my chest) instead of getting up and running away screaming like a little girl! But I thought that might be bad form.

And, I might be a wee tad biased, but I think this just might be the most handsome 5-almost-6-year-old I have ever seen. I mean...look at that kid!

Finally, a collage of some of his art: