Lucky Number 7!

I'm not sure if 7 is really a lucky number or not, but people seem to think so. I figure its a good title for this blog post as Kai was pretty stoked on turning 7. He bid goodbye to 6 two nights before with his first real stomach flu so I guess 7 was lucky b/c he was all finished throwing up by the time he was 7!

He mustered Teia-levels of excitement when he arrived in our room early in the morning to proclaim that he had turned 7. Then he went through a list of all of his body parts that had grown in the night, tangible proof of his seven-ness. 

For our loyal blog following (that's you mom....and Shannon), you might remember that Kai has a sneaky little habit of changing favorite things right before his birthday. Last year we were scrambling to turn a trolley party into a train party at the last minute and ended up with a bit of a mixture. This year followed suite. Kai's favorite thing in the whole world changed from school buses to ferry boats as April 27th drew near. I was anticipating this a little bit so held off on too much party planning until the last minute (much as it stressed my planning-self all out). It was easier to do this year, seeing as Kai only invited 3 friends to his party. Its much easier to last minute plan a party for a few kids, rather than the full class-load we had last year. So this year we had a school bus/ferry boat party. No one seemed to mind. Kai loved his giant school bus photo stand. It is amazing how much school bus stuff one can purchase on the internet. I had no idea they were such a popular interest for kids. Ferry boats, not so much, apparently. 

Okay, one more school bus picture:

But we did find a BC Ferries toy if you can believe it. We are taking a trip to the Pac NW this summer which will involve a ride on one of these "super boats" as Kai likes to call them and he is really smitten with the idea. 

There are no waits for this ferry. Captain Kai fits ALL the cars on!

Kai's friends arrived and the trampolining commenced. I love this picture. Just so much unbridled energy!

Kai's birthday party usually marks the first swim of the year. But I think it was actually the second this year; its been a warm "winter." 

Kai's cake was decorated to reflect our duo-theme. We couldn't find any ferry boats to put on his cake so we made do with pictures of BC Ferries on toothpicks (7 of them, as requested). He was pretty pleased. I always love watching his face as he sees his cake for the first time. I think it is the birthday moment he gets most excited about. 

Ferry pinatas were equally hard to come by so we improvised. 

You didn't want to be this pinata. One of Kai's little friends hit it so hard that some of the toys inside broke. Really hoping the pinata thing gets old soon. I can remember maybe only one birthday party growing up with a pinata. Here in San Diego, EVERY birthday party has one and all the kids just expect them. I find them annoying on several levels and look forward to our first pinata-free birthday. 

But complaints aside, Kai had a great birthday. He was thrilled to be another year older, and we loved having a chance to celebrate him. 

Seems like just yesterday he looked like this: