Luke is 7!

Another year of birthdays has passed us by, and all the kids have turned odd-number ages.  My sweet, crazy, active, passionate Luke is already 7 years old.  He sped through first grade with flying colors.  But then, Luke does everything either speeding or flying.  :-)  Due to his highly inquisitive nature, he really likes to learn and has been a joy to teach.  He's very observant and catches on to things really fast.  He has established himself in our family as a music, movie, and Bible trivia guy.  He loves to be challenged to figure out what song you're humming or which movie the line was in or answer some obscure question from the Bible.  He's a quick thinker, usually the first to answer any question we propose to the kids. His quick thinking often leads to witty quips that keep us all laughing.  I love Luke's sense of humor!  He also has a very vivid memory, clearly and quickly remembering things that he's seen, heard, or experienced.  He can be super gentle with little kids and then turn right around and be super energetic with bigger kids.  He's very affectionate and freely gives hugs and kisses to his sister and parents (brothers don't appreciate those things quite as much).  If you need someone to wrestle with, he's your go-to man, as he often has pent-up energy that needs to be released.  Luke doesn't always know what to do with said energy, but he's learning healthy ways to handle it (and probably will be learning that for the rest of his life).  :-)  With his fantastic imagination he can be very creative when making up stories and coming up with new ideas.  His voracious appetite for reading accounts for much of this, I think.  He usually has several books that he's working through at the same time.  I'm often boggled to fathom how he can read as fast as he does, but he can almost always answer any question you ask him about a book he's read.  Just another thing that Luke does on super speed.  Though he sometimes laments not being as good at some things as his big brother, Luke is his own man--a unique, talented, intelligent, sensitive, energetic guy, whose loving nature blesses me greatly.  I love my Luke!

His 7th birthday was a day to remember by all.  He wanted a "Toy Story 3" birthday theme with an emphasis on Woody, his current favorite character.  Complete with decorations, a sheriff badge shaped cake, friends who came over to play games, and lots of presents, Luke had a super fun day.  

In honor of Luke's birthday, a couple of days before the big day we took the kids to the fun place/ropes course at a local mall.

Luke's meal choices for the day were doughnuts for breakfast, chicken & dumplings for lunch, and pizza for supper. 

Pin the tail on Bullseye!

We hid pictures of the Toy Story characters all over the room then the kids had to come find a picture of each character.  They always enjoy hiding/seeking games like this one.

It was definitely a "Woody" theme as he got the Woody badge, hat, doll, shirt, and blanket.  :-)  What a fun day!  Happy Birthday, my sweet Luke!