Monday, December 7, 2009

Brandon turns SIX!!


Well, Brandon had a wonderful birthday! It was such a great idea to combine both him and his friends' birthday parties this year!! We chose a venue called the Children's Technology Workshop, where the kids dabble on the computer for awhile and create lots of different kinds of things, using various tools. Then, they are given pictures of a Lego "project" and they proceed to build that particular project from Legos.

At this party, they built cars. We also instructed the staff to create a similar project for the younger age group, about 3-4 year olds. So, the venue set out some bigger duplo Lego bricks for the smaller group and also let them build their own cars. Everyone had lots of fun doing their own project!

When they finished, the kids took a break and ate some cake. We had a total of three cakes and only ended up eating one! We had a total of 18 kids, 2 birthday boys and some parents hanging about and we STILL only ate one cake...unbelievable!! Once the cake was sufficiently eaten up and all their little tummies were full, the staff set up racetracks and the kids got to race their cars!! The staff had put a manual electric wheel on each car and they had to turn the wheel to generate the power to their cars. Brandon won twice!! Ryan's car broke in the first race and he came in second for the second race! Well done boys!!



The kids had lots of fun! After the party ended and many parents came to pick up their children, me and a few of our closer friends hung out at an indoor play place nearby and then went out for pizza next door to that. The kids were sooooo tired by the time we got home!!

However, Brandon was given the choice to open all his presents or save some for the next day...on his "official" birthday. He chose to open all of them and was sooooo excited to receive every single one of them!! He didn't receive one repeat item! Both he and Ryan have been in b-day "heaven" for a couple of days straight! haha

Since we had an extra cake, Brandon got to take it to school on his true birthday and share it with all his friends there. He was so excited!! And so were his friends! haha

Brandon's #1 thing to look forward to in his sixth year is losing his baby teeth! He cannot wait, he says! Too funny! He has also mentioned that since turning six, he's faster then some of his [more faster] friends. He's very proud to be six. ;-)

So, all is well in the Nepsa household...'tis the Season and there is much joy! Both of the boys are looking forward to Christmas, but interestingly enough, they both can't wait until baby #3 is born. It's so sweet. There is a lot they both want to show him. Brandon wants to sleep with him in his bed and he promises he'll be gentle with him...although he is a little concerned about his baby brother being scared because he is SIX years old now and SO much bigger than the baby. haha Ryan just told us he wants to help feed the baby...and give him soft blankies. :-)

So, we are enjoying our blessings this Season - immensely! The boys are people to be proud of and baby #3 is being eagerly anticipated. We have one more "event" to attend this weekend...the Christmas party at our friend and neighbors house. All of our mutual friends are very excited about it. We will be eating LOTS of food, exchanging gifts for the kids and playing a 'Yankee Swap' game among the adults. Considering the girls are STILL talking about how much fun they had playing bingo, I'm sure they will have lots of fun at Christmas as well.

Many of us have confirmed our intention to leave Shanghai by summer time of next year. This makes all of us sad, since change is always an adjustment...and not always an easy one. So, we have all declared our intent to enjoy each other's company as much as possible before our "group" is split up for good. This news has been especially hard on those who will be staying behind. :-( But, with this news, they know that these special Holiday moments and time spent together is especially precious. We are all in agreement with that.

2 comments:

  1. What's my pregnant baby doing up at 3:42 in the morning? You're gonna need your strength and energy for #3 you know! I'm glad you all have such a good attitude and are enjoying the time left in China so much. I personally can't wait to get ALL of you closer to home. Give my GREAT BIG SIX year old grandson lots of birthday kisses and hugs from me. While you're at it, try to hold Ryan down long enough to give him an equal share from Granny.

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  2. Sounds sooo fun!!! Looks like it was a blast!!! :) Wish they had fun stuff like that here! Where do you get your energy? You are always on the go. Make sure you get plenty of rest before baby #3 gets here.

    Love and Hugs,
    Jamie

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