Happy 6th Birthday Auden!

Wow, the months have flown by and this blog has definitely fallen by the wayside.  I have been using Instragram for every day life and with an app I've been creating these awesome little photo albums that automatically get mailed to us every 60 pictures.  So I promise I’m still documenting your childhood boys, some electronically and some in print:) 

But today is a special day that deserves a blog post like it always has in the past- Auden’s birthday!

 

Wow, 6 years old!  You are growing into quite the little man.  You are maintaining your awesome big brother status and do much more playing with Grant than fighting (let’s keep it that way!).  You lost your first tooth on Christmas Eve so the tooth fairy and Santa Claus came the same night for you- what excitement that was!  You lost your second tooth the first week of February so right now you have the cutest toothless grin.  There is something about missing teeth that make you so grown up, I remember like it was yesterday when those two teeth poked through when you were a baby. 

 

So what are you up to right now at age 6?  You love learning about science and doing experiments, love legos and are able to put together 500 piece sets all by yourself now (without frustration!), love climbing anything and love jumping off everything!  You are my sunshine and as always wake up with a smile on your face.  Your imagination is extraordinary but sometimes it makes for some bad dreams.  Having your little brother sleep in your bed has helped with that.  We love you so much Auden bear.  You are a dreamer, an inventor, and your focus and hard work ethic are going to take you so far in life!     

 This past year you handled the transition to starting elementary school and riding the bus with a breeze.  You are making new friends but you feel most comfortable in your class with your neighbors, especially Acacia.  We are so proud of your achievements the past few months.  In September you were reading the beginner BOB books, then you breezed through the Pre-1 level books and now you are reading Level 1 books (which tend to be more a first grade level) confidently.  Daddy calls reading your new “superpower”- which it is!  Sometimes you ask us what something says and then you realize you can read it yourself, it is so fun watching you figure it out.  We (and your teacher) are trying to get you to feel more confident in your writing and trying to spell words, your perfectionist attitude holds you back on wanting to try to write things for fear you will misspell them.  You are too hard on yourself and we spend lots of time telling you that trying your best is all we ever want- not perfection.  Here is a cute note you hid in your brother’s suitcase when he went on a trip with Daddy to Colorado last month. 

In the fall you decided to try two new sports- basketball and Tae Kwon Do classes.  However, neither sport was able to keep your attention or interest long enough.  I’m glad you tried them; we are learning that you do not seem to enjoy ball sports or actually any sport needing aggressiveness (at least this point in time).  Which is fine, we are just exploring different things to see what activities you do like.  We already know you love to be in the water, jump off the diving board, ride your bike and loved learning to waterski this past summer.  We just got back from Park City, Utah on a ski trip with Nana, Pappy, Tia and Uncle Tom and I think it’s safe to say skiing is one of your favorite sports now.  It is just amazing how four days of skiing can improve you and your brother’s abilities by leaps and bounds.  I wish the same would hold true for me!  You are very lucky boys to be learning this young and going on awesome vacations like this, I’m not sure you will remember it- but you had a blast!  By the end of the trip you were going up on all the sides of the slope, looking for little jumps and even going around some barriers and trees.  You are a speed demon and Mommy barely can keep up with you already!  You have loved the few springboard diving classes you were able to take this past month and are learning correct diving techniques and learning how to backdive.  It’s so easy to tell when you like a sport- you pay attention and we don’t have to bribe you for being a good listener, haha.  You have a knack for tuning people out when you are uninterested in an activity:)  We are definitely learning as we go along with you my dear! 

 6^TH BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW

• What is your favorite toy?   Legos!
• What is your favorite food?  Baked beans
• What is your favorite thing to do/play outside? Play on the backyard playset and ride scooter
• What is your favorite show?  The Cat in the Hat Knows A lot About That!
• What is your favorite color? Green and yellow
• Who is your best friend? Neighbors Acacia and John (besides brother;) 
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Chemist- food scientist
• What is your favorite sport?  Diving and skiing

 

This year instead of a party, you chose to go to Great Wolfe Lodge as a family and enjoy a one night getaway and a huge waterpark!  It was a blast and you loved the independence of being able to go down some slides by yourself.  The room with bunk beds was a hit and it's safe to say you'll probably be asking to go back in the future. 

Grammy and Grandpop came to visit on Valentine's Day to celebrate your birthday and we ended the long weekend with your neighborhood buddies coming over to sing happy birthday to you and have some delicious ice cream cake.  Pretty great weekend I'd say!  We can't wait to see what this next year brings for you sweet Auden bear, we love you with all of our hearts.