Happy 6th birthday, Brennan!

Brennan's birthday was Friday the 13th this year, like when he turned one. It was a jam-packed day.

HIS DAY

At the boys' school, instead of bringing a treat to share with their class, they instead choose a 10-minute class activity. Most kids pick extra recess, but Brennan made it crystal-clear that he felt that was silly in the winter. (Of all my kids, he's the one who hates winter and snow the most.) He instead picked for me to come read to his class for his activity. He picked the same book I read when Collin was in kindergarten called "The Boy Who Loved Broccoli." It is a cute story where the broccoli gives the boy super-hero strength and size that he uses to serve others. Unfortunately, it is really poorly written. Anyway, I went to his class to read it on Friday morning. It was fun, since one of my favorite things to do is read aloud.

We had a bunch of family trickling in throughout Friday, so when 1/2-day kindergarten got out at 11:30, the family already in town (Grandma & Grandpa and Nana & Papa) met us at a Chinese restaurant in Windsor. Brennan likes their sweet & sour chicken, but he doesn't like the vegetables or the sauce or the rice. Yeah, you read that right: he eats the chicken like nuggets, and - since it was his bday - I brought a little cup of BBQ sauce from home. Collin had had a doctors appointment just beforehand, so I already had checked him out of school, and Ryan left work to join us, so it was a fun, little - if you can call 10 people little - gathering.

After lunch, Nana & Papa took Brennan to Target to pick out a Lego set and to the party store to buy balloons for his party that evening. He spent the rest of the afternoon working on building his new set. He was in heaven.

At 5:30, Dad got home from work and Kim and her family arrived from Utah. Ryan brought Costco pizza, as requested by the birthday boy, and we had dinner. Then we played 5 simple Poke-mon themed games: Pikachu ears (craft), Catch Charizard (ball toss), Pin the Tail on Pikachu (blindfold), Poke-mon Catch (hunt) and a Poke-mon pinata.

It was tons of fun to plan, but it wasn't tons of fun to lead. The cousins were all worked up, and Brennan was in his "nothing will please me, no matter what" mood. I was really sad he wasn't happier, especially after all the work we'd put into it.

After the games, we sang and he blew out candles. I made poke-ball cupcakes, and Ryan made a Pikachu cake. We also had birthday cake ice cream (I love that stuff!).

Then he got to open gifts. From us, he got a new bike helmet, some Poke-mon Lego figures, a "How to Draw Poke-mon" book and a pack of colored paper. Aunt Kim got him a set of sports piggy banks to decorate. He was unimpressed by it all, but - as I mentioned - he was in an "impossible to please" mood.

ABOUT MY BRENNAN

We love Brennan, and we are so glad he is part of our family. He has taught me more than all my other kids combined. He sometimes is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest little boy, and I truly love spending time with him. He plays with Kate on the floor, reads to Ethan, makes cards for our family, empties the silverware from the dishwasher, and tells jokes. Other days, he is mean and violent and unpredictable. Those days I pray to end quickly. He is learning, and so are we.

He is smart. He reads quite well already. His math and writing skills are out of this world. He is an incredible artist, and he has the focus and attention of a child much older. He's already a prolific author and illustrator of books on many topics - dragons, tortoises, Poke-mon, ABCs, ninjas, pigeons, etc. He has lots of friends at school, and all the kids flock to him. He is a perfectionist like no other, and he doesn't want to try things that he thinks he might not be perfect at.

In December (on Collin's bday actually), he was voted Most Responsible by his classmates, and he was honored at a school-wide assembly. The other kids said he always gets all his work done, and he always picks up after himself. It really is just a popularity contest, but that's a rant for another day.

Brennan has had quite the year of physical growth too. He is two years behind Collin, but as soon as Collin grows out of any clothes, they now immediately move on to Brennan, instead of having a year boxed up. Even though he is only in kindergarten, he needs to wear all the clothes Collin wore in 1st grade, and Collin wasn't a small first grader! The doctor projected at his well-check appointment that he would reach 6'3". Sounds like he'll take after my uncles and cousins...  

He still doesn't handle change or failure at all. If something changes unexpectedly, it is practically the end of the world, and there are always tears and usually kicking and/or hitting. On a day with a lot of pressure (like a birthday or Christmas), he is usually a total wreck.

He hates almost all food I cook, but mostly because he knows it makes me sad. His favorite food is homemade macaroni and cheese with bacon, and I make it almost weekly. Last week Ethan asked me what was for dinner, and when I replied "pancakes," he disgustedly replied, "YUCK!" I asked him why he had said that. "Because we ask you what for dinner, and you say it, and we always say yuck." Laughing, I tried to explain that "yuck" means you don't like it, and that if he does like it he should say "yum" instead. "Oh, me like pancakes. I say yummy now!" Where do you think he learned to say "yuck" EVERY time Mom says what's for dinner?!

Brennan is doing karate two days a week with Collin. He likes it when he is there and afterwards, but the last few weeks it has been a real battle to get him there. He says he wants to drop out, which I am willing to support, but I told him he had to pick another extracurricular activity to pick up to replace it. He doesn't want to do piano or soccer, so I plan to try to find some kind of artsy thing for him. I'm not really sure where to start though...

Brennan has great potential. We love him so much! Here's to another year of growth and learning together. Love you, B!