A Birthday Boy

Grant celebrated a birthday on Feb 17th.
He turned 7!
I actually had to remind myself of the year he was born and do the math to figure out his age. Not that I’m a neglectful mother (although this may be arguable), but because I honestly thought he was already 7 turning 8. Maybe because he’s always right there along side his brother, I think they’re the same age.

I asked Grant some questions this year so we could learn more about him:
What makes being 7 special? I don’t know yet
What is something others don’t know about you? I don’t like to talk a lot
What is your favorite things to eat? cookies
What do you love about yourself? that I’m smart
What is your favorite book? Warriors
Who is your best friend? mom
What do you want to be when you grow up? a person that takes care of animals
What do you like to learn about in school? armadillos

I had more questions to ask him than this, but evidently it’s a form of torture to answer questions about yourself around here.

Well, I can’t get inside a 7 year old mind, but I can tell you a few things I know about Grant.
Grant is a brainiac, this boy is smart and too logical. I’m certain he has 2 left brains.
He loves chess! He’s starting chess lessons next month because I’ve already taught him what I know, and he wants more. His only fear is playing in a tournament though. But I know he would compete well.
He loves armadillos! He has been obsessed with them for a couple years. Loves ‘em to death.
He adores Jefferson and is his constant shadow. There are times when Jefferson gets frustrated and yells at him to ‘stop following’ him around. But for the most part, they are inseparable. Here they are in a ‘clubhouse’ they made one afternoon. They even sat in this thing through a rainstorm. Grant was mad that Reagan was in the clubhouse because “no girls are allowed”.
 
He’s lost 3 teeth in the last month, and another one is loose. I’m scared he’ll need dentures to eat anything  soon.

We went on a mini vacation Presidents Day weekend, so Grant celebrated his birthday in a hotel. Exciting, I know. We made it special for him though.
I woke him up to a loud, obnoxious, and semi-off tune version of “Happy Birthday”. We went out to breakfast with some friends (who were also vacationing in the same city as us), then we went to Chimney Rock (more on that another day). For dinner Grant wanted to eat “buffet food”. He ate as quickly as he could, then begged us to hurry up and finish because he couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and swim. All he wanted for his birthday was to swim! That’s an easy request. His wish was granted, with about 3 1/2 hours of swim time.
Look at this happy (toothless) boy!

Opening gifts in the hotel room.

This, my friends, is an armadillo cup holder. Grant almost had a heart attack opening it, and wouldn’t put it down. I’m telling ya, he’s obsessed!

Okay, I was beginning to feel like he got a little gypped on his birthday. But looking at these smiles, I realize he did have fun.

Happy 7th Birthday to my little sunshine!