Killer Bees

Isn't that a great team name? 

It's very intimidating when you're 6 and you're about to whack a baseball right off the tee into who knows where. 

And Cody was a very ferocious Killer Bee...

 

 As you can clearly tell . . .

 

But give him a Creamie bar, and he's as sweet as can be.

 

Parent side note:  Why didn't anyone tell me that T-ball was a waste of time??  I thought it would be good for Cody to learn how to play baseball, but they really didn't teach him much besides - hit the ball and run around.  In order to not hurt anyone's feelings, no one is ever "out" and it doesn't really matter if you actually run to home plate or just run back to the dugout.  In order to be fair, there were three kids in the middle playing "pitcher" and there was no point in getting the ball, because they had no idea what to do with it when they did.  And obviously I don't know that much about baseball, or I wouldn't have paid someone to teach my kid how to play.  AND PS: I am NOT a fan of treats at the end of the game!  Is it just me?  For my 6 yr old, all he wants is for the game to be over so he can get a twinkie or popsicle or candy bar and sometimes a juice box to go with it.  Maybe my child is just too deprived of these things.  What happened to water and maybe orange slices at half time.  Anyway, at least he got a cool hat and shirt that he likes.  And I think he mostly had fun, so don't let this deter you from signing your child up.  Just look at his smile - maybe that's worth it, right?

Home-made Parachute

Cody decided he would put a plastic grocery bag on his back and see if it would work as a parachute.  He started by trying to jump off an electrical box while we were out for a walk.  When we got home, he decided he needed another bag or two and to try it on the tramp instead.

He was almost flying now . . .

For sure if he just added one more bag . . . and one more. . . and just one more . . . 

Then he realized it was actually better as a cushioned landing.  

I watched him out the window for awhile, smiling at how much fun he was having with this new experiment.  This is what pure joy looks like.  I just love this kid!

Simple, but they all had a ball

Cody wanted a "sports" party for his 6th birthday celebration, and I was all for it.  One, I was pretty sure I could come up with some "games" and two, they had the supplies for it at the dollar store.  Score!

I let him invite 8 friends (since that's how many invitations were in the package) and we ended up with 6 little boys + his bros, which was perfect. 
As they arrived, they got to make their sports visors . . .

Then we headed outside to shoot some hoops.  Luckily we had awesome almost summer-like weather...

They also got to try their hand (or foot rather) at soccer.  

Dribbling and making goals . . .

 

And practicing their "no hands" moves . . .

We also had some baseball planned, but since one of the boys had to leave early we decided to go ahead and get on to the real party stuff - presents and cake!  For the presents, I had the boys sit in a circle and pass around a ball while music played, if it stopped on them, they got to give him their present.

Cody was so sweet to all of his friends and so happy about each one of his gifts.  And I love to see how happy little boys are to GIVE gifts.

And then it was onto the "cake" . . . or cake pops.  Love these things!  They are fun, easier to make than they look, the kids love them and best of all, not messy! And did I mention dangerously yummy?

But since we couldn't stick candles in those, we had to improvise . . .

and the ice cream cups work great!

(PS I always use these at kids parties, so quick, easy and small portioned for little tummies)

As with all parties, it went by fast and the kids had a blast. 

And I don't remember this when I was six, but Cody actually had multiple birthday celebrations (and I haven't decided whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that I didn't take pictures).  So this party was on Saturday.  On Sunday, we had a family party at Grandma & Grandpa's with Chinese food per Cody's request.  And then on Monday, his actual birth day, he got to take treats to school AND we got to go to the fire station for dinner and brownie sundaes.  And if he wasn't spoiled enough, we even got to go for a ride in the fire truck, which despite what you may think doesn't happen very often and is quite a treat for these daddy-loving boys. 

It was a happy birthday indeed for this little man.

6yr old Birthday Interview with Cody

First, the favorites:

color - lightest blue

cereal - Lucky Charms (they get a box of "sugar" cereal for their birthday, so had this not been the day after his birthday, he probably would have said Rice Kripies or MultiGrain Cheerios)

vegetable - pear (hehe)

drink - blue cream soda (Russ bought them these just a few days ago and I think he liked that he got a special treat, and just fyi, they were absolutely disgusting and FULL of sugar.  big surprise.)

toy - Trio blocks

TV show or Movie - The Lorax (we actually very rarely watch TV, and I think its funny he said that movie since we haven't even seen it yet.)

game - Kizi.com (that was his automatic response to "game" his other was the card game "Mille Bornes")

book - Fly Guy

restaurant - the bakery

holiday - Mondays, because my friend comes over. (we just stared babysitting a couple little boys every Monday)  (When I clarified 'holiday', he said "Christmas, because it has snow")

animal - horse (although he really wanted to buy a snake or a guinea pig with his birthday money)

activity - playing with legos

What do you like to do after school?
do my homework so I can play games

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Game maker, movie maker, store owner

If you could change your name, what would you choose?

Striker

What is something you learned this year while you were 5?

Not to hit. "this teacher that comes to classes taught us that we cannot punch, we cannot bite."

Songs - ABC Rock

What do you love about each person in our family?

Mom - "because she makes food, because she feeds me food and she cleans the house"

Dad - "he picks me up from school.  he helps mom clean up the house.  he makes food when mom's gone"

Corbin - "he plays with me" "he loves me (but really you all love me)"

Colton - "he plays with me, he helps me with my jobs"

What are some of your wishes for this year?

sleep in the bunkhouse at Grandma's

And a couple stories about Cody (by Mom):

A few weeks ago we had a lesson in Family Home Evening about tithing.  At the end, I gave the boys their allowance (which they get for completely things on their responsibility chart) and helped them figure out what 10% was.  When I look over, Cody is stuffing most of it into the "tithing" slot on his bank . . . So I say "Cody, you don't have to stick the much in there".  With enthusiasm he responds, "I want more blessings!" . . . When were at church filling out the tithing form, I showed him where to write his name, address, etc. and he said with a knowing nod, "So He knows where to send the blessings."

 

The other night, Cody and I were laying in bed and I sang him the song "Families Can Be Together Forever" which led to a discussion about how great it was that mommy and daddy would get to be together for eternity.  He asked what other people do that weren't married in the temple and I told him that sometimes they are married "till death do us part".  Cody concluded that he needed a girl who wanted to get married in the temple - he said, "I'll make a sign that says "I need a girl who wants to marry in the temple.  Girls who don't want to marry in the temple KEEP OUT!"  This made me smile.  Then he added to the sign, "If you expect to marry me - 1,000 dollars.  No, 10,000 dollars!"

It all started
March 12, 2006

 1 yr later . . .

2 years later . . .

3 years later . . .

4 years later . . .

5 years later . . .

And here we are 6 years later . . .

Happy Birthday, Cody! 

We love you!

Flashbacks of Cowboys

As the boys have been getting out our costume box and getting ready for Halloween, one of the costumes of choice has been "the cowboy" (which sometimes includes spiderman wearing a cowboy hat and boots that at are too big), but it reminded me of Cody's cowboy experience this summer . . .

Mutton Bustin' at the Spanish Fork Rodeo has become a tradition in our family.

Why do we torture our children like this?

Actually, I think he had a good time, despite the heat and the dust (and getting the wind knocked out of him).  And we all enjoyed watching the rest of the cowboys and cowgirls do the same.

Cody was happy and surprised that Grandma & Grandpa came by just to see their favorite cowboy ride!

(To see Corbin riding in the rodeo click here or for actual video footage you can click here.)

"I'm going to get bigger"

1st day of 3rd Grade

1st day of Kindergarten

1st day of Preschool

Corbin and Cody were very excited about their matching shoes.  They had fun planning how they would walk into school holding hands, and how Corbin would come to the fence of the kindergarten playground and say hi, and how Corbin would watch out for anyone who was being mean to Cody.  Cody was excited to be at the big school with Corbin, and I think Corbin was equally as excited to have his little bro there with him.  I hope it lasts!

Colton told me he was going to get bigger once I let him go to preschool by himself.  And he was so excited, he didn't even want me to get out of the car.  No fear, no doubts, ready to take on the world.  His mommy actually doesn't want him to get any bigger.  I love this little man!

A whole three and a half hours a week to myself.  What I am going to do without my sweet little boys!

 

A Bittersweet Goodbye

Two days after his "Car Culmination", Cody had his last day of preschool at BYU.  We were very sad to say the least, but Cody is also very excited to start Kindergarten.  We will miss all of his amazing teachers, especially our good friend Miss Dorie.  This preschool has been such a good experience for Cody and for us as parents - we both learned more than we could have any where else.  I am grateful for their dedication to helping Cody become a successful learner and for helping me learn how to work with him on critical life skills.  I feel like we got a double bonus as I had the opportunity to team with them in helping Cody grow and develop and prepare for his future schooling career.  I called Dorie my "parenting therapist".  I felt good knowing that he had a teacher that cared about his development and his future as much as I did, and that we could work together on doing what was best for him. 

Thank you, Miss Dorie!  We will really miss seeing you everyday!

And thanks to all the other student teachers who made this experience so much fun!