Will is 7!

Little Will is now 7!!

I totally missed posting on his actual birthday--but rest assured, we did plenty of celebrating.

The festivities started on Saturday, May 3, with his birthday party, an ocean-themed party at our local paint-your-own-pottery studio.

I wasn't joking about losing my cake mojo.  I kept it simple with shark cupcakes.

The kids picked out different sea creatures to paint.  Will chose a shark, of course.

Anna worked very hard on her mermaid figurine:

Pizza and cake time!

Anna tried to sneak a few presents when Will wasn't watching:

Sixteen kids in a studio of breakable pottery, and nothing got broken--a miracle!!  The noise level and general kid exuberance wore me out, but Will said it was the best day ever.  So I think it was worth it. :-)

The following Tuesday, Grandma and Nana came to town to see Anna's K3 program:

...and they stayed for a birthday dinner with Will.  Will chose the menu (chicken fingers and brussels sprouts) and the cake (coconut).

He got lots of fun presents--the rock collection from Nana and Papa was a favorite:

For awhile there, it looked like we were going to need two rock collections:

I made a few presents for Will--a library book bag for this summer and a few T-shirts, all made from freezer paper stencils I cut from some of Will's artwork.  I was so happy with how they turned out:

Putting Nana to work with some modeling clay and Play-doh:

Finally, on Will's actual birthday, he had a pizza lunch at school and I sent cookie cake for him and his birthday buddy, Adam:

After school, we went to Orlando to take Grandma to the airport, and then stopped at Pei Wei for a final birthday dinner...

...and fortune:

 Sweet boy!

Will's Favorite Things, Age 7 Edition

Friend: Adam and Micah.

Restaurant: Olive Garden.

Movie: Finding Nemo.

Toy: Three-tip.  (His stuffed shark)

Sport to play: Soccer.

Favorite shirt: Megalodon and Eel shirts and new shark shirt from Grandma.

Pizza topping: Cheese.

School lunch: Goldfish and applesauce.

Book: "Seacra" (that's a book that Will wrote himself).

Color: Blue.

Song:  Disney songs.

Favorite thing to do as a family: Go on vacations!

Breakfast: Granola bars. Biscuits!

Favorite thing to play with Anna: Play Legos.

Bible story: Daniel and the Lions' Den
Bible verse: Proverbs 16:18  (He picked this one because he learned it as part of a book of fables, and he liked that fable the best--all about a turtle that figures out a way to fly, but his pride in his skill is his downfall.  Literally.)

After-school snack: S'mores goldfish.  (We love Goldfish around here.  All kinds.)

TV Show: Octonauts

Candy: Coconut cake.  (Is that candy?  I think not.)  Okay, Skittles then.

Ice cream flavor: Neapolitan.

What do you want to be when you grow up: A scientist that studies snakes and sharks.

Store: Publix.  (Just like his sister.)

Board game:  Guess Who?