7 times around the sun

This past Sunday, we celebrated the 7th birthday of our Jakey Bug! It was a fabulous day indeed. Daddy and the boys had gone camping for the weekend and this mama was anxious for them to get back (I stayed behind due to some tummy issues). I spent most of the morning getting everything ready...setting up the birthday ring and putting the gifts on the birthday table. After what seemed like forever, they were finally home!

We tend to keep birthdays fairly simple in terms of gifts. Homemade are the best and it seems to be what my kids tend to expect now. While I didn't get done everything I had hoped this year, I was able to knit up a cute little sweater for Lizzy. I will definitely be making a few more soon for the other babies in the house. We also gifted Jacob with a pair of flip flops, a swim shirt, The Seven Year Old wonder book and a few cat toys and collar. Yes, that's right, I said CAT. Because in our house, having a 7th birthday means getting your very own pet! More on that in a bit...

Poor Lizzy. The morning of Jakey's birthday and Kenna decided to draw on her face with permanent marker!!! I was trying very, very hard not to be livid, but admitingly, I did get a bit grumpy with her. Thankfully, Jacob wasn't too upset and I promised to make a new Lizzy face after I finish up Kenna's gifts. She still looks beautiful though in her new sweater!

Now, back to the kitty. Our good friends cat had a litter of kittens about 6 weeks ago. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as Jacob had decided he wanted a kitten for his birthday last year already. We had visited the kittens a couple of times and he picked her out immediately...she was the only girl of the litter. So after opening presents yesterday, he and I set out to bring her home. She was a bit shy at first and wanted to hide under the bed. Of course, the kids wanted to play with her, so they spent most of the time climbing/squeezing under there to get her. MaKenna squeeled with delight every time she saw her and kept saying "kitty, kitty". I had forgotten how much Dakota loved cats too, but he was right there under the bed with the kids. In fact, he didn't leave Chloe alone all evening. Silly old dog!

Jacob decided on pizza as his birthday dinner and then chocolate birthday cake. When we lit the candles, I told his rainbow bridge story and Daddy lit one candle at a time on the birthday ring for all seven years of his life with us. I did get a bit emotional at the end. It is really hard for this mama to watch her babies grow up. I look at him and he seems so big to me right now (even though I know he is still little!). Ugh...it never gets easier though!

It was a long night...the boys were too excited to settle into sleep and kept playing with Chloe. Finally, it was quiet and Daddy headed up to bed. He then said we had a missing kitty. After searching for her for about 10 minutes, I finally found her- she was all curled up with Jacob under his covers! A sweet moment to end a really great day!

I asked Jacob when I was tucking him in for the night if he had a good birthday. He said "it was the best birthday...I don't want this day to end!"

And this is the only picture Daddy took of the boys and their mountain camping trip. Poor Jacob was getting a bit carsick from the mountain roads...you can see the misery on his face! But despite this, he said he had a great time.

I really am such a lucky mama to have been given this gift- to mother a boy who challenges me to grow as a person and who brings such joy and laughter to my life. I love him more than he could ever possibly know! And I am so proud of the little person he is turning out to be.