William the NINE Year Old!

 William is such a fun child to celebrate. The days leading up to his birthday he was so excited and very sweet. I am so grateful we had a day to appreciate such a wonderful boy!

Wills Turns Seven

William is seven! I feel like seven is the hardest age for me because it seems so much more grown up than six. With that said, this was one of my favorite birthdays as a mom. It was just a FUN day and William was excited about every single detail!

William wanted a Lion Gaurd cake with some Pokemon decorations. The night before his birthday he helped me bake the cake and I decorated it when he went to bed. 

On everyone's place was: Pokemon cards, smores poptarts, gum, and LionGaurd stickers.

I told him if he went to sleep super fast, I would leave a present on his bed for him to wake up to. He woke up to a stuffed Simba, and boy was he excited! I woke him up singing Happy Birthday and he smiled so big before his eyes even opened.

I mean, look at that face!!

We had cinnamon rolls and vanilla milk for breakfast, having him blow out a candle on his cinnamon roll. We read his birthday cards and a I read all the things people loved about him he nodded matter-of-factly: "That's true, that's true, yes, I am." He wasn't bragging, he just genuinely believed every good things others shared. It cracked me up, but also made me happy he has so much confidence.

I decorated his bedroom wall, and school area with LionGaurd stickers. His teacher sent home a birthday crown and gift bag for him. His class sang him Happy Birthday.

During his break and while Matthew was in preschool, Johnny and I took William to spend his birthday money from Mamaw and Papa Brassell. He bought a stuffed Nala, to fight his Simba, a sticky hand, and crabby patty gummies. He was a happy boy.

On the drive home I watched in the rearview mirror William lovingly kiss the foreheads of Nala and Simba. He carried them everywhere under the crooks of his arms. It was so cute.

For lunch he requested homemade rolls, Frito twists, caramel rice cakes, and watermelon.

After school, we had the Cummings over for cupcakes and playdate. They brought him some helium balloons and treats. After the Cummings left, we had the Rices over for more cupcakes and more playing. William told me he loved every single time we sang Happy Birthday.

For dinner, William chose pancakes, fruit, bacon, and orange julius.

We sang him Happy Birthday a fifth time for the day, then immediately cleaned the LionGaurd figurines William had been anxiously waiting to play with.

For his birthday, William got a couple hot wheels cars, a ninjago lego set, and large lion and triceratops figurines he had his eye on. (He lost his mind when he realized he got both!) William plays with animal figurines all the time, so this upped his game play quite a bit.

From Grandma and Grandpa Brassell he got mini animal figures, and a lego shark/squid.

I just love how excited he is! 

We decided to postpone cake because of all the sweets we had already. William commanded us all to then watch Lion King 2. 

It was such a fun way to end the day.

He was tuckered out and fell asleep pretty quick once he surrendered that his birthday was really over! I love how he positioned Nala and Simba right here, haha!

Dear William, 

I am so happy to be your mom. You make me laugh and you give the sweetest hugs. I love how to try to make me feel special every day. You are growing up and you work so hard trying to make good choices. I love watching you learn and grow as you understand the world around you more. You are an artist and so creative in how you play with your toys. You have awesome dance moves! I think it is awesome how brave and daring you are! (Even if it freaks me out a little bit sometimes.) I love how much you love running and jumping and feeling the wind on your face. I am so grateful to have such a confident little boy that knows who he is. Dad and I smile so big every time we talk about you. We love you so much!
Happy 7th Birthday, Son.

Love, Mom

William, the Six Year Old

William turns SIX!! He is tender, determined, confident, bright, fierce, loyal, and funny. And he makes us happy (and crazy some times, but we'll take it!) He gives the best, most sincere compliments. I love how earnest his face is when he does his homework. He will play soccer with anyone willing and keep at it full speed for three hours straight, smiling the whole time. Happy Birthday William Bradley, you hold a special place in my heart! He requested a Wild Kratts Birthday, it was a blast.

WILLIAM TURNS FIVE

I don't remember much about this birthday (it is almost two years later I am writing this...) I do remember it was such a fun birthday, and William was so excited the whole day. I had always wanted to make a volcano cake and Wills thought I was magic to have actual smoke coming from the volcano!

I think the pictures tell the story best.

William you are such a sweet addition to our family. I love that you love dinosaurs, transformers, cars, and motorcycles. You are so cute to watch play and I love how focused you are when you play. Thank you for your sweet hugs and being able to sense when I am sad, and knowing just the right thing to help me feel comforted.

Happy FIFTH birthday, little buddy!