Ethan turns 6!

Our youngest son is 6! It seems like just a short while ago that we landed in Cyprus just weeks before Ethan's birth! Time really does fly! Ethan is the most adventurous and intriguing little guy I know. He has an incredible sense of imagination and can play for hours in his dress-ups. His perseverance and inquisitiveness are 2 characteristics I really admire about him! He’s not push-over! I love the things he builds and makes and try so hard not to stifle his creativity.

His 6^th birthday coincided with the first day of the George Show where we launched our Kiddie Gourmet products. I knew I wouldn’t have any time before the show to bake him a cake or have a party, so we discussed with him that we’d do that sometime after the show. We still wanted to make his day a special celebration …. And this is how we did it:

We were all up just after 6am – a VERY early start for our family! Ryan and Jed were in the kitchen and cooking up a storm short after waking up so that I could have a quick shower and get ready for the day. I helped them finish off the cooking and breakfast was served around 7am. Ethan’s wish had been to have a ‘Wimpy-style breakfast’ … fried eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans and toast. And we gave him just that. Ouma sat him at the head of the table on a chair decorated like a throne. She then decorated a tall sandwich with chocolate flakes and put some candles in so he could blow them out (even though we didn’t have a cake!). We ate like kings, and it was yummy! Ryan and Jed did a great job!

After breakfast we all gave Ethan his birthday presents which he was thrilled to receive. Gifts are definitely his love-language! What impressed me was the excitement with which he opened very single gift and card, he was genuinely thrilled! He loved his gifts!

Dieter and I rushed off soon after breakfast, leaving Ethan and Aimee to watch his new Fireman Sam DVD from Nana. Ryan and Jed helped Oupa and Ouma tidy up after breakfast. Coffee time is a ritual in our home and Ethan and I had chosen special biscuits and chips for him and his siblings to enjoy outside over a tea-time picnic. After their picnic they all got in the car with Oupa and Ouma to redeem Ethan’s birthday voucher for an overall. (Ethan had outgrown and left his old overall behind in Cyprus, he was thrilled to get another RED one!) He was too big for a 8-year old overall but fits into the 12 year-old overall with room to grow. Now his fireman outfit is complete again!

Ouma and Oupa then bought them all to the show for a few hours. Ethan and his siblings mostly wandered around enjoying the rides and agricultural displays by themselves, but Dieter and I did venture out with them now and again. After a yummy lunch of cheeseburgers and crisps, they took one more walk outside to the rides before heading home with Oupa and Ouma for an hour or so. Their timing was great as the wind began to pick up, the sun disappeared behind dark clouds and it began to drizzle. It was bitterly cold.

Ouma and Oupa cooked a delicious evening meal of fish, chips and salad and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. Ethan had a great time at football practice too and all-in-all it was a great day! When I asked him how his day was he said he really enjoyed it but was looking forward to celebrating with the handful of friends he’s made. I have in mind to make him a fire-station birthday cake, am sure he’ll love that!