Jonah Turns 7

It's always hard for me to watch my children grow up and despite my pleas to stop, they still keep doing it :)  We have a tradition in our family of celebrating birthdays with friends only every other year (on their even numbered birthdays).  But for a few months Jonah has been very sad that he would not get to have a friend party this year simply because it was an odd numbered birthday.  The mere fact that it happened to be an odd year was lost on him and oh the tears were plentiful.  So we put it up to a family vote and the boys agreed to let Jonah (and Gavin) have a friend party this year.  Caleb and Liam decided that their big trip to Utah with Dad was worth agreeing to a friend party for the other two.

Jonah was thrilled and immediately decided to have a dinosaur party.  Now mind you, this decision to have a party was put off  until 10 days before his birthday, because I believed I had explained clearly the rationale for an every-other-year friend party.  Silly me!  All I can say is thank goodness for Amazon Prime (free two-day shipping), PaperlessPost where they had a free dino invitation, and the fact that dinosaur parties are pretty popular for kids.  Jonah wanted "stations" where we made fossils with model magic clay, dug for dinosaur skeletons in the mulch pile (good thing we didn't get it all spread yet), set off Diet Coke/Mentos "volcanoes", broke open the T-Rex piñata, and played "t-rex and pteranodon"......like the game "sharks and minnows" for those up to date with their elementary school recess pastimes.

Some of the adventures:

Today (his actual birthday) we'll celebrate with family with a Cinco de Mayo fest of street tacos with all the fixings, non-alcoholic Sangria, and angel food cake with strawberries, per his request.  He's very excited about "chasers" and just hopes that Jared won't send him all the way to the mailbox (it is a 10th of a mile walk, mind you, with a steep hill both going and coming).

For weeks he has been wanting a real live animal for his birthday and settled on a guinea pig, but Jared and I had to let him know that this was not going to happen this year.  We are bringing home two chinchillas for the summer from Liam's classroom and that truly is enough rodents for me inside the house.  I'm encouraging a rabbit hutch that we can keep outside and I think I might be making some traction!

So after spending about 30 minutes in his room waiting for the chasers to be placed he was off to to the races and only mildly complained about having to go to the mailbox! It's part of the package deal with chasers, really.  He was excited for all his gifts, and there were too many.....I think we were feeling guilty about not making the guinea pig pet happen this year!

But before the pictures here are some things that I want to remember about Jonah being 6 years old:

*  He LOVES animals (real, stuffed and prehistoric) and is clear that he wants to be a paleontologist or a zoo keeper when he grows up.

* His favorite foods include quesadillas or most things wrapped in a tortilla, toast with butter and cinnamon sugar (he can now make his own), hot cereal, hamburgers, sugar cookies with and without frosting, cinnamon rolls (I made 75 for teacher appreciation and his class this weekend), most fruits and a handful of veggies.

* He loves to read books about animals, especially the ones by National Geographic, and is drawn to the stories about animal relationships:  odd friend parings (monkey and dove) as well as mother/child relationships.

* He's brave and adventurous......this year he insisted on going down the blue square (intermediate) ski runs by himself to meet Gavin and me at the bottom of the hill, he gave his first talk in sharing time and a great speech (on Tuatara reptiles) in the 4-H competition, he gives the kids 2 feet taller (literally) than him on the soccer field a run for their money (he plays "up" on Gavin's team with the 8-9 year olds), he tells his "girlfriend" that she's cute, and he is never shy in meeting new friends.

* He's desperate for us to buy a motor home so he can sleep while we drive.  He wants Ruby to sleep up there with him.

* He is the first of the Harris boys to be a Tiger Cub in Cub Scouts.

* He still asks me to lay by him every night.

* His favorite movies are Planet Earth, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars the Clone Wars (not a movie per se), and Avengers.

* He is desperate to see Taylor Swift when she come to C-ville in the Fall (tickets are sold out).  He sings to all of her songs and knows all the words.


Here are the photos of chasers and finding gifts.  The first three are there so you can see Gavin's little dance ditty going on in the background.....so funny to me:)

Making the trek back from the mailbox!

Of all the boys it is hardest for me to watch Jonah grow up.  I threw out the #7 candle out after he made his wish because it had done its job 4 times over.  I will never have another "big 6" in my house.  Soon, I won't have a boy who wants me to lay by him at night or hold my hand in the day.  He asked me if I would be sad that he got a year older when he turned 25 and I told him that yes I would!  He will always be the marker of time for me.... the last to pass through the milestones.   I love you Jonah Rawl!