Anderson turned 7 & that seems about right to me. You know, either that or 17.
This kid has been the exact same as long as I can remember. Here are this most defining character traits:
1.Intense : He has so much intensity in all things, all of the time. This is amazingly positive in so many ways (sports, school, etc.) but also exhausting when I just need him to sleep 5 more minutes or be slightly flexible about life.
2. Physical: He is always, always jumping, running, kicking, attacking. I know this is very true of the boy species in general, but he is a special time even for the boy world. I remember not being able to wait until he turned 4 to sign him up for all of the sports because from birth he has ready to tackle anyone near him. And, sports have been AMAZING for all of us over the last 3 years. Watching him play football and basketball is seriously so much fun because he is so focused.
3. Competitive: Anderson is just naturally competitive; it is so much of his personality and it drives a lot of his actions. While too much competition can be a negative thing (he really, really struggles with losing) overall I am grateful that he attacks the world to win.
4. Curious: SO.MANY.QUESTIONS. Also, his favorite subject at school is Math, which makes me curious if he is genetically my kid. He is really into art lately & wants to draw all of the time. He has so many questions about illustrations and artists and how to draw things and, again, we are all just thankful that Brandon is generally around to help facilitate things. Also, the animal situation-it is very real. He really does need to have some kind of animal interaction daily or he might explode.
Always outside, always playing some kind of sport.
He LOVES football and sort of enjoys basketball. He tells us all of the time that he is going to be an NFL kicker one day.
He is still obsessed with all animals, especially reptiles. He would spent hours at pet stores drooling over snakes if I let him. Poor Lily got roped into this particular situation.
He LOVES his new UT Nike backpack.
Then there are the times that our lives have exceeded my wildest dreams and UAB asked us to be the pediatric story on their yearly fundraising mailer.
Also "several hours a day" was clearly not my phrase.
If you know me at all, you know that we had Anderson's 7th birthday party at Ijams with a Harry Potter theme; I have only been talking about this for the past 6 months to anyone who would listen. If you have not noticed, I like to talk incessantly about any and all plans, usually a year in advance.
It might be my most enjoyable hobby.
A parent asked why his party was at Ijams and I was so confused and unsure how to answer. I mean, it's Ijams; what is not to love? Also, this might literally be Anderson's favorite place in the world, so there really was no question. Throw in the fact that they have a Harry Potter theme & the whole set up was basically made for us!
Some moms have Pinterest; I have Publix bakery & an Amazon Prime membership.
Lily is amazing and we traded Max for her as we left for the party. Seriously, we really did leave Max with Nicole & Mom and took Lily with us because she is one of the most real adults in our family.
I let them each choose 2 rings:
Lily chose Gryffindor & Ravenclaw
Anderson chose Gryffindor & Slytherin
Nobody is surprised.
The room was perfect-it was pretty big and ,most importantly, I did not have to actually decorate.
When you are the baby of all of the grandkids, you are forced to dress like Hedwig at the party.
I mean, I just cannot even deal with how cute Levi is as an owl.
Also, my mom is looking awesome!
You know that in our house we only have one way of doing things and that is what we call, "high class." So, when there was an opportunity to have a roadkill exhibit, we were all over it. Seriously, the animal guy (I have no idea what his name/title is) had a possum (opossum? is it the same thing?), which kicked off the party.
When I look back on this, I cannot help but crack up. There were some parents who had never even been to Ijams and the first thing we threw out there was an animal that may or may not have rabies. Hilarious.
Also, I do not know the kid on the left; he was not part of the party.
Lily wanted me to take her pic.
Ijams has so many cute things for kids to do. I really did not mind giving them my money.*
*I saved all year to have enough on Ibotta to pay for the party & I reached my goal. I love a challenge & it paid off. Literally...it paid off. Ha ha ha.
Harry Potter scavenger hunt inside....
and outside.
Also, I overheard Max tell his little girlfriend, "I will save you from all of the danger."
Levi was forced into the fun.
It was 65 degrees in January! The week before the ground was covered in snow, so I consider this a HUGE win!
There was a Potions experiment that was honestly kind of lame, but this picture makes it look fascinating, so just go with it.
Lucy was so helpful & came over to the table to help us put out all of the snacks.
Anderson decided we should have chocolate wizard suckers. I think he missed that memo about how I am not able to bake/cook/create edible things, but these actually turned out pretty cute.
I mean, I love this kid's enthusiasm.
One of the "perks" of the party is that Anderson got to pick an animal to visit the party. Initially he wanted an owl, but ultimately decided on a snake. He was SO happy about the snake but was a little disappointed in the fact that he didn't get to hold it.
\
He suddenly turned shy when we were singing to him.
Max will always take your mess and up you at least 100.
Reese is literally the cutest child that I have ever met. I could listen to her talk for hours and I want to give her everything she asks for, all of the time.
The snake man said, "The snake only takes one picture & that is with the birthday kid, but I will answer questions from everyone."
Reese raised her hand and in her little Reese voice said, "I would like to have a picture with her."
**Pause**
Snake man, " Yes, ok, we can do that,"
She is powerful, that Reese Cup.
Outside playtime after the party. Max was in HEAVEN.
Levi & Sissa!
I will make this boy love me even if it means I have to make faces like this.
Before we left, we had to get in one more visit with the Possum/Snake/now owl man.
Overall, the party was so much fun & I am so grateful for this sports/nature/UT loving 7 year old boy and all of the wonderful people who celebrated with us!
