Luke turned 6!

Okay, so I'm once more a little behind on my blog writing...  Luke is the first to kick off our birthday season every year on May 12th.  In some ways I can't believe that Luke is already 6, but in many ways he is maturing and becoming quite the little man.  He flew through his kindergarten year with flying colors, always eager to learn and try new things.  Luke is really sharp and seems to figure things out really quickly.  He's chomping at the bit to begin 1st grade and see what else is out there for him to learn.  As challenging as this next year will be for me in homeschooling, I'm excited to teach Luke 1st grade.  Luke is almost always up for any challenge, always ready to prove himself.  :o)  His favorite song is "Courageous" by Casting Crowns because he loves being courageous and brave.  This past year he's been involved in speech therapy with a great American therapist.  She loved her sessions with Luke because she said he was so much fun and so willing to learn.  Luke was also involved in a Tae Kwon Do class for almost 5 months.  It was not an easy thing to do in another language, but he gave it his best shot.  He's always been the most interested in watching sports (loves the Olympics!) with Daddy, so we thought he could try something out for himself.  Energetic is probably the word that most people would use to describe our Lukey as he seems to have the energy of 3 people.  Though he doesn't always know what to do with all that energy, I can tell that he is learning to control it - not an easy task for a little boy.   One thing that will almost always get Luke to (mostly) calm down is reading.  He loves to read and be read to.  He's determined to read through a whole series of his brother's 2nd grade level chapter books.   One of the greatest things about him and his brothers loving to read is that they enjoy reading to Mercy.  If Mercy happens to wake up early, Luke is the first one to be in her room to read to her and play with her until I'm prepared to get her dressed and ready for the day.  It's things like that and others that make Luke a super helpful boy. Some other things that Luke is into recently are the color orange, Iron Man (see pictures below), super heroes in general, Lego Ninjago and Hero Factory, and playing in the rain.  Luke is our affectionate boy; he loves snuggles,  hugs, and kisses.  Of course, being the most tactile of the children, he also enjoys wrestling and body slamming.  :o) 

The day before Luke's birthday we took the kids to a mall "fun place" that they really enjoy.  It had been a long time since we'd taken them and we decided it was time for Luke and Joshua to try some of the bigger boy things instead of just playing in the kiddie place (slides, balls, etc.).  So Luke got to try the bungee trampoline for the first time. 

After that he and Joshua both got to try the "ropes" course for the first time.  It was very cool, and such a great activity for them both.  They each had a guide follow them around as they climbed around and made their way through the course.  Here they are both with their straps and helmets on.  Daddy took this picture from the next floor up (see the stairs in the background?).  They were up pretty high. 

On the big day we started out with yummy donuts as per Luke's request, went out to eat pizza at a local place down the street from us, then had Luke's favorite chicken and dumplings for supper after a fun afternoon party.  Lots of friends came to play games, share our cake, and celebrate our Luke.  He had chosen a "sports" theme so the games mostly centered around balls of some sort. 

His first gift of the day was his very first "real" Bible from Grandma and Grandpa.  Since his reading has taken off over the last year he's really been wanting his own Bible to look things up in on his own. 

Another gift was this great Iron Man costume from the Morriss family.  He loved it!

Boys at the pizza restaurant for lunch

His cake was actually a group of cupcakes in the shape of a baseball glove.  It was my first time to do cupcakes in a shape like that, so I'm still learning.  :o) 

 

Can you guess who this little Iron Girl is?

Teams had to push a ping pong ball the length of the carpet... with their noses.  The boys were a little embarrassed at first, but they soon joined in the festivities.

We had ordered this US Olympic soccer jersey for his birthday, but it actually arrived the day after.  He did get a new soccer ball though (since we recently misplaced the one we had).  He was pretty proud of his new jersey.

We love you, our sweet Luke.  I'm so proud of the man you're becoming and growing into.  I'm so glad we got to celebrate the life that God gave you 6 years ago.  May He continue the work that He has begun in you.