Birthday/Turkey Day

I think it's ironic that Erik's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year. He's 6 years old now and while his eating habits are lacking, very much so, he is such a great kid!

Something I really admire about him is that he knows his boundaries. He knows what he wants and he does it. He is consistent, follows the rules, and gives it his all. He also knows what he doesn't want and no bribing, coercing, or manipulating will change his mind. (Hopefully time will change his mind in the case of food.)

Two examples: he is always, with maybe 2 exceptions over the past few years, the first to be ready for church on Sunday. I say it's time to get ready and he doesn't mess around. He does it and is the first out the door. The other example is when we were practicing for the primary program. He had one line and I really wanted him to say it, but he told me from the beginning that he wasn't going to. I even told him I'd take him to Menchies to get ice cream the next day, but he stayed firm.

I told him for his birthday this year we were going to celebrate in the morning and then have Thanksgiving dinner later in the day and that he could eat whatever he wanted for dinner. He was happy about the arrangement. Last year he ate his roll in the other room because he couldn't even look at our plates full of food, but this year he was able to talk to me, while I had my plate in front of me, without being grossed out. Progress.

We ended up signing up for the turkey trot here in Canton at the Summit. I did it years ago, the one that raises money for epilepsy. Everyone wanted to do it, so I opted not to so that we could have adult supervision. (I had to go on my own run beforehand so I wouldn't feel envious of all those happy runners in the race!) Karissa, Austin, and Erik did the mile fun run. Erik walked a little, but I ended up being the turkey and running him on my back! Jason and Victoria did the 5k. It was very cold and Jason's getting over a cold, so he was not in the best condition to run, but we all enjoyed the experience.

The racers

Birthday boy. 

Austin loving the race! He's going to do the 5 k next year. 

 

Karissa loved it too, but she didn't mention anything about the 5k next year... 

Erik and I walking in. I had just taken him off my back. Look at his sweet sisters cheering him on!

Just after Victoria finished. I missed her coming in because I was using Jason's phone and wasn't used to it and trying to keep my hands warm at the same time!

Jason getting a high 5!

After recovering from the race, we went to McDonald's so Erik could eat the french fries that he likes. He requested a soda (something we never get!) so we got him a Happy Meal, something we never get either! Karissa ate the cheeseburger from it and Erik ended up eating the gogurt that came with it later (yes, he does like gogurts, sometimes.) He was thrilled to get the Pokemon toy with it!

He opened presents and we sang Happy Birthday and had cupcakes ( I had frozen the rest from the party). After that, it was all Thanksgiving. We had invited two younger families over. They both have two-year-old boys and 2-3 month old babies. One of them had invited the sister missionaries to their house, so they came along as well! Our new used table has two leaves that allowed all of us adults to sit at the table, with Victoria included. Karissa and Austin sat at the counter and Erik and the two-year-olds sat at the little table, per Erik's request. Actually, Erik didn't sit much. He only wanted a roll and put it in his cup without eating one bite from it, then went and played with Nick, who also didn't sit to eat. Only Gabe, sweet little two-year-old Gabe, sat at the table and ate a plate full of Thanksgiving food! And wouldn't you know, but I didn't take any pictures of the meal! I was enjoying the food and company so much, it didn't even cross my mind! Laurel brought 4 pies, the rolls, and delicious green beans, and Glaucia (from Brazil) from Brazilian rice (to die for!!) and a sweet potato dish that was so simple, yet so good! We provided the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Every single thing was homemade, from the rolls to the cranberry sauce; no wonder it was so good!!

Erik has wanted a dreamcatcher for a while.

Happy boy!

Notice the cups in the picture above. Karissa spent many hours making these turkey cups for our guests and us. She made 16 of them!

The finished product!

Erik, helping make the juice for the cranberry sauce. He was the most helpful in terms of helping with last minute things. He set the table, made the juice, and stirred the juice and sugar for the sauce.

Austin made this little turkey as our guests were arriving.

A few tidbits about Erik: he loves to play tag and we play every single day at school while we wait for Austin to meet us at the kindergarten playground. He loves school and is doing very well. He's starting to read and is great at math. I volunteer in his classroom on Monday afternoons to help with I-pads. I get see how well he's doing there and I love it! Luckily, they have two snack times in addition to lunch. That's the only way he can survive the day on snack food. Some of the foods I give him to eat at school are: goldfish, plain honey nut cheerios, chips, crackers, yogurt drink, juice box, boxed milk, carrots, fruit snacks, granola bars, pretzels, and sometimes raisins. I just rotate some of those foods and that's about it. The other day he told me he doesn't like carrots anymore, so I don't know what were going to do now!

He loves to get his back rubbed, cuddle, play with his siblings and watch them play Minecraft, be outside (especially in the rain), and play with little animals or other small toys. He got a lot of Lego's for his birthday and is enjoying those now. He still loves to watch Wild Kratts!

We love this little guy!