Happy Birthday George

George loves to celebrate birthdays and, most especially, his birthday!  He is following in the footsteps of his Great Aunt Nancy and Aunt Dude.  They are birthday girls who are pretty sure their birthdays should be a national holiday.  George has been counting down the days and

finally, it was here.  His 7th birthday, February 14, 2013.

George chose Oreo ice cream cake.  Mmmmm......

George started off his day by opening one gift before he went to school.  It was a little kid guitar and his favorite gift.

I joined George at school as one of the party moms doing his class Valentine Day's party.  We had a good time and then grades 1 - 4 participated in Jump Rope for Heart, an annual fundraiser for the American Heart Association.  He and Zack jumped and jumped and jumped.

Look at Zack go.  Nice height!

Go George.

It was nice enough to play a little baseball outside after school.  Mary was napping so I played vs. the three boys.  They beat me.  Then we went inside to prepare George's birthday feast:  corn dogs, macaroni and cheese, strawberries and Fritos scoops.  Keep in mind this is Valentine dinner for Joe and me too.  I baked two chicken breasts with asparagus for us to enjoy with our mac & cheese and Fritos.

 

Since it is so exciting to open presents, we started while dinner was cooking and because Zack had basketball practice.  George received four art classes, a cooking class and lots of art projects and supplies.  He will be a busy and happy artist.  Here are the highlights:

A create your own puzzle complete with its own set of colored pencils.  He got a regular puzzle too.  George is a good little puzzler.

The certificate for his art classes and his very own painter's palette.  He also got two artist portfolios to keep and display his finished creations.  They are a binder style, one is 8 1/2 x 11 and the other is 11 x 14. 

I made George a photo book of pictures of him from our Disney trip.  It tells all about George's trip to Disney World. 

The boys all studying George's Disney photo book. 

His gifts from the Buckley family, the only item missing is Angry Birds tattoos.  Can't forget those!

A paint your own canvas set with the paints included from the Werth family. 

A cooking class certificate from Papaw and Grandma.  I'm not sure he understands what a cooking class is but I know he'll enjoy it once he gets there.

Here's a collage photo of his gifts.  

 George's high point of the day was eating his Oreo ice cream cake.  Good stuff!

Happy Birthday to our sweet George.  I'll never forget driving to the hospital at 5 p.m. on Valentine's day and saying to Joe, "well, this will be a different Valentine's day!"  George was due on February 14 so he arrived right on time.  He fills our days with smiles and joy.  His curiosity and creativity are amazing and the things he makes on his own blow me away.  He's a little MacGyver artist, give him scissors, a few crayons, paper and glue and you never know what you'll get.  George is very thoughtful and considerate.  He's a good friend and enjoys talking to people.  He's observant too, you can't get much past him.  He knows all the rules and isn't afraid to tell you if you're breaking them.  George is really enjoying math this year and loves to read.  He is a self-proclaimed naturalist and loves all things to do with the outdoors.  We are enjoying watching him grow from a little boy into a confident, fun boy.  We love you George William Swayne!