S S Soren is S S Six!

A few weeks ago we went to the Natural History Museum in Albuquerque.  That's all it took to get Soren hooked on dinosaurs.  He now wants to be a rock star AND a paleontologist.  He requested sugar cookies for his birthday treat, so Jon created a pile of blood and guts for the T-Rex (Soren's favorite dino) to devour.  Soren helped the T-Rex eat the carnage, and he was pleased to have red frosting "blood" on his face for the rest of the evening.  That's especially funny since Soren is the first and only of our little ones to become a vegetarian by choice.

 Since we have quite a few birthdays around here, we celebrate them pretty simply.  I usually don't plan any games or activities or invite a bunch of people or have goody bags.  We have our own traditions that I hope will be enough to make their birthdays special.  The kids get to choose a box of sugar cereal that then is wrapped and waiting for them  when they wake--Soren chose Cookie Crisp this time.  There is a special bowl that each kid gets to use only on their birthday.  We let the kids open their biggest gift right away so they can enjoy it all day long--Soren got a Playmobil rock star set.  The kids get to open their other gifts at random times during the day.  Each child gets to go out to eat with one of the parents on their birthday.  Soren asked for everyone to accompany him to Golden Corral this time.  I'm sure the one-on-one time will be more treasured as he gets older.  We also try to make them the supper of their choosing followed by cake or whatever dessert they desire.

This is the first time I actually planned a birthday party activity for one of the younger ones.  They did a dinosaur dig (thank you, Pinterest) where they dug for bones, shells, gems, and beautiful rocks.  It was a great activity that has been keeping my kids busy for days now.

 Soren's big claim to fame is that he is the oldest of the little ones.  That is a VERY big deal to him, and I'm glad he gets to shine in this glory for the next two months before Cassia turns six, too.  He will enjoy every minute of it!