Happenings in May

I think we should start off this post with a little Scouting, shall we?

Ryley has worked hard and after 6 months has received his Bear!  Daddy was filling in for Pops at the Pack Meeting so he pulled double duty and did the face painting and awards all at the same time so I could sit with the baby and take pictures. 

Way to go, Ryley-san!

May is a month of many birthdays on the Smith side.  We celebrated Sadie's with a Cinco de Mayo fiesta at the Hafen's house (while we were celebrating in our hearts with the Reid's for Mase too.)  Later on in the month with had a combined party for Matt Mo, Pops, and Cash.  But first, we had a little family party a few days early for Cash since Daddy would be at Youth Conference all day on his actual birthday.  That was totally cool with Cash though!  Drag out the celebration for a few extra days?  Yes, please! 

Maddie is always decorating our white board or chalk board for any occasion.

We started by eating out at Pei Wei per his request.  Yes, he is my favorite son.  ;)

We came home and he immediately wanted to open his presents.

Maddie made him this 3-D house out of paper (and lots and lots of tape!) for his Legos or Pokemon or something. 

I'm not sure he really wanted this next present. . .

He also got a dress up cape because who doesn't want a cape for their birthday?

Then it was cake time!  Yes, I have awesome cake decorating skills.  Don't be jealous.

      

Like all of his handiwork on the chalkboard back there too?  Math lesson and lots of big "C's" in honor of his special day.  Oh, and my cell phone number for some reason that I can't remember now.

 

After singing and wishing and blowing out the candles we all chowed down on our vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and lime sherbet with whipped cream - definitely a Cash dessert.  Sawyer was not a fan of the whipped cream.  I'm beginning to doubt that he's even my child.

Maddie was there and enjoyed her cake and ice cream too, but I somehow missed the picture of her when I was editing them earlier today.  And I'm not opening Photoshop again today.  Sorry Maddie!

On Sunday we celebrated it up again at Granny and Pops' with all the birthday boys.  More presents + more cake + more ice cream = more fun! 

Ninjago Lego sets and Spy Gear make for one happy little man. 

We love having all these birthdays in May and we love it even more when they're finally over.  :)

A few things about Cash before I finish up:

- He is still the family clown and loves to make us laugh. 

- He idolizes Ryley (who doesn't always love it) and LOVES playing with him.  They play Legos, Pokemon, Twilight Camp, and just about anything else pretty well, at least until someone starts throwing punches. 

- He has done really well  in his first official year of homeschool!  He has especially picked up reading very quickly and can read just about anything now.  He even reads from the scriptures all by himself.  He moved up into the books I had used for Ryley in first grade within a couple of months of starting "kindergarten".  He also loves math and science.  He does not like writing but does very well at it and is doing really well with his spelling too.  He has an amazing vocabulary for a 6-year-old and often surprises me with the words he uses - in a good way. 

- He is still very timid around anyone except family.  He refuses to do anything in front of a crowd - like join the Primary to sing in Sacrament Meeting (although that was remedied with some candy on Mother's Day) or participate in the Pack Meeting activities.  He has given talks and prayers in Primary and has done OK as long as Josh or I am standing right next to him.

- Cash is definitely still my cuddlebug.  He loves Sawyer and loves to try to cuddle with him, which is not very well received.  Sawyer is NOT a cuddler.  However, Sawyer will almost always give Cash kisses when he asks for them, but Sawyer refuses everyone else most of the time. 

-  He's not really into any sports but tried gymnastics this year and liked it well enough.  I think he's ready to move on to something else though. 

- He's caught the artistic bug and can often be found with a pencil or crayon drawing.  I am constantly finding pictures of Pokemon that he's drawn or lists (of Pokemon) that he's written out all over the house. 

- He sleeps with his blanket pulled up over and around his face and head so that just his face is out of the blanket.  Cracks me up every time I go in to check on them before bed.

- He is still a very picky eater.  He has improved some this year though and will now eat cheeseburgers, most of the dinners I make, tacos, and at least two or three bites of vegetables at dinner (with lots of complaining and gagging but I'll take it!)  Hallelujah!  His favorite food is Alfredo pizza.

- We found out that he is allergic to ibuprofen this past year.  His eyes swell up starting from the outside corners and moving in.  Even his eyeballs were swollen.  So scary!!  We spent quite a few hours at the allergist's office.  He also has pretty bad seasonal allergies (which last all year long down here in Texas - awesome.)  He definitely has the worst allergies of all my kids. 

- He lost his first tooth two days after his birthday and has several more loose teeth.

- He still hates chocolate!  Weirdo.

- He has one dimple on his left side.  He is also getting freckles all over his cheeks and nose. 

We sure love our Cash.  He is definitely dramatic but is also so fun and loveable.  We are so thankful to have him in our family!!  Life would just be boring without him.  :)