Today yesterday (by the time I get to publish this!) you turned 7!
{photo courtesy of Mell Mallin Photography}
And at 7, you love to...
play at parks...
...and have been telling me for the past year what you would like on your birthday; not in a demanding kind of way but in an innocent planning kind of way. You'll say to me on any random day, "mum, when it's my birthday and I turn 7, do you think I could have a special bbq for lunch?" or you'll say, "Mum, when it's my birthday and I turn 7, can we have (insert a name here!) over to play?" You sweetly plan and change your plans all the time. I love that about you and how you have been sharing all those things with me!
{photo courtesy of Mell Mallin Photography}
At 7, one of your fave things in all the world to do is go exploring with your older brother and sister...
You are such a lover of sports and physical activities!
Here you are playing handball witih dad...
... and trying out the skateboard Heiko kindly gave you...
...football is STILL your fave sport to play (especially with Pupu!)
...although riding your scooter probably comes in a close second...
...and you tackled the skate park this year with your scooter for the first time and LOVED LOVED LOVED it!
Another physical activity you love is having leaf fights with your siblings...
...and playing 'tip', 'tip the ball' or 'hide and seek' in the backyard...
This past year you also signed up for a term of golf...
...and you REALLY enjoy going bushwalking (especially out to our fave track where you love to collect rocks and then throw them into the water hole)...
You still crack us up with your antics and jokes and have settled a bit more into learning to self-regulate your emotions. You smile and laugh ALOT which is a joy for us to see..
Eating fruit outside with your family is something you really love and are looking foward to doing more in summer...
In this past year, you lost a couple of teeth This was your first one...
...and this was another later on in the year. This one came out by itself on the way back from visiting the Edwards'. It had been loose a while but wouldn't budge and then you were drinking some water and said, "Hey I think my tooth just came out!" When I asked you if it hurt, you just shrugged it off and said, "Nup! It's fine! It doesn't even hurt at all!" You are really brave Ethi!...
You really love having cuddles with Sulley, Nan, Pop, Nau & Pupu...
And recently you snuggled up with Aunty Meng when she came to town for a visit...
You LOVE reading! You are reading the Zac Power series at the moment and really enjoy processing what you read...
You said one of your fave memories this past year was celebrating some of the feasts. Camping out with dad and the kids in the tent was probably your fave, you said...
You LOVE playing 'pretend' kind of games. Here you are playing pirates with Jemima and Liji at Sukkot...
At 7 Ethi, you are really creative...
...and love drawing pictures for me and dad especially. When you were sick this year you wrote a card for each of us. Mine said, "Dear Mum, I hope I get better soon. Love Ethi" and you drew a happy person (me) and a sad person (you).. Here you are making paper lanterns to decorate the house for the Feast of Tabernacles...
This past year you created your own board game...
...designed your own hand puppet...
and helped Dad build the Opera House!
When I was pregnant this year, you loved cuddling up to me and chatting to bubba in my tummy...
This past year you attended the homebirth of your little bro Ezekiel and I was glad to have you there mate!
You had been planning to give me water when I needed it and were so happy when you got a chance to do that!
You and your siblings STILL talk about how cool it was to be there when Zeeki arrived into the world and just the other day said you wish that night could happen again!
This was you with Zeeki for your FIRST EVER cuddle with him on the morning of his birth...
You love Zeeki so much and always enjoy cuddling with him...
At 7, you enjoy helping dad building stuff (in fact he bought you kids a tool kit of your own to start using this year)...
...and working in the garden (although you lose interest after a short time!)
You do your chores (your fave is collecting eggs and taking up the compost and your least fave is sweeping the floor!)...
...and LOVE cooking! Your fave tv shows are Junior Master Chef and Backyard Science...
At 7, you so love hanging out with the Vandor kids and the Edwards' too! You also talk about Nate alot too and Ezra as well...
You enjoyed riding in the fire truck up at the local community day at the nearby school...
...and riding on a horse!
You learnt a bit about recorders and had fun playing a song with Liji and Stass but after that interest waned quite a bit and we've put that a way for a while ;) and that's ok...
At 7, you sometimes wear this funky head wrap...
...you love science experiments...
...and helping me make stuff (like putting eyelets into the mobile we made for Zeeki's changetable)...
Your MOST FAVE way to spend time is to create with LEGO! You LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Here you guys are at the aquarium in Sydney when they had a special lego thing happening...
You had your first case (and our whole family's first case) of nits this year (hence why your head is shaved in this next pic!)
You also experienced your first chocolate fondue this year...
...and SO had a fab time in the go karts for our annual family party day!
You LOVE being outdoors; digging in the dirt and collecting insects or snails...
...climbing trees...
...and are quite comfortable to be on your own too...
This past year you danced in the snow and tried to catch the flakes on your tongue...
...you said goodbye to Nau and Pupu's house and talked about all the fun times we'd had there together...
Ethi, you are a very thoughtful and caring young man. You love Yah and your family and love playing with friends. You are sensitive and gracious and we love watching you grow mate!
To our precious Boo Boo,
Happy 7th Birthday!
All our love always,
Mum and Dad and the kiddos xox
