Feliz Cumpleaños Liam! Liam Turns 6!

Wow, another year has flown by!!  Every day I look at my children in awe of how much they have grown and changed over the years.  And today, our baby turns 6!  Six???  How is that possible that the BABY can be 6?

Liam going to be 5 and excited to wake up on May 2 as a big 6 year old!

And he was beyond super excited about turning 6.  For some reason this was a big number for him.  He's no longer a little kid, but a big kid.  He's old enough to count down the days.  He knew his birthday was on a Thursday so he's got the days of the week down for sure.  This morning, his brother went into wake him up (mainly because he wanted to see him open a few gifts before school), he could barely contain his excitement, running up to Josh and I and enveloping us in the biggest, sweetest hugs we could ever imagine and telling us he's now 6!

Liam got to open a few presents before school on Thursday - some Spiderman legos and a Skylander or two....

Inspecting his present

So far, I like 6.  I think Liam does too.  This morning, he told me he was going to get dressed without being asked because that is what a 6 year old does.  What are the odds that he will continue to do that???  Probably slim but I'm going to take advantage of it while he will do it :)

Liam and his best buddy Jake sharing a hug to celebrate

A little brotherly birthday love at the bus stop

But don't get me wrong, 5 was a great year for Liam.  Sure, it seems to be the year where we have begun the whining stage (thankfully I have seen that this stage will actually end at some point).  But it was also a year where Liam became more independent.  While he's not totally keen on doing everything by himself like his brother does, he became more independent than he had been in the past - he learned to get dressed, he finally got out of pull ups at night (that was on his birthday last year so I guess that's considered year 5, right?), he helps out around the house and he has learned to better communicate like a child and not a little boy.

His passions this year... Ninjago all the way.  He loves Ninjago.  Wants to be a ninja someday.  He also wants to be "the greatest chef in the world" which has now become "a ninja chef".  Well, hey, at least he'll have a unique niche in which to protect and yet feed the world.  He loves to cook with me these days.  I'm not a great cook nor do I really enjoy it but with him it's fun and it means extra one on one time that I normally wouldn't get since I have to cook anyways.

He also loves his superheroes.  Whether the Super Hero Squad, the Justice League or Spiderman - he loves them all.  And he knows them all.  That amazes me these days, his ability to recollect information and to regurgitate it.  He knows all his Pokemon characters and can tell you how they evolve.  I'm sure this is in part to having an older brother, but I'm in awe of his ability to do this.  He does the same with his Skylanders (also a more recent obsession).

I brought cupcakes to school today for his and he was super excited about being able to share them with his friends.  He did, however, remind me that I forgot to bring the candle to blow out.  Bad mom!!

Liam in class

Everyone eating their cupcakes - yum!!

 http://youtu.be/6xGbiipaHC8

Liam celebrating at school

Josh made it home early for present opening and dinner with the boys.  It was nice to have him with us for the evening as he usually doesn't get home til the boys go to bed.  I think Liam opened his gifts in about 2.3 seconds.  What were the gifts that made the biggest impact?  Skylanders, of course - JetVac being the ULTIMATE gift (and he also got the Legendary JetVac which only added to the excitement - not just one, but two JetVacs!!)!  He also got some Iron Man toys, Ben 10, Cars, Legos (Spiderman and Star Wars) and some Transformers.  I think overall he was pretty happy with the gifts.  His grandparents all sent him gifts cards for Amazon UK which he is excited to redeem for exactly the things he wants - so that will be a lot of fun!!

Wearing his birthday "crown" from school and doing a bit of a happy dance because he can open his presents!

What's in there???

Skylanders!!!!

And Star Wars!

I have actually never seen a child so excited about books but he proceeded 

to do a dance after getting them!

We had Liam's favorite Lemon Chocolate Chip cake for dessert.  It wasn't the prettiest cake but it tasted delicious (must work on my presentation skills).  He had wanted that for cupcakes for school but somehow I didn't think that many 5/6 year olds would like lemon cake.  But we thoroughly enjoyed it here at home :)

Big boy blowing out the candles!

We're looking forward to see what 6 brings for Liam.  I have at least some vague idea from a development standpoint since he's the younger brother but given the two of them are such polar opposites, I'm just curious about the kid he's becoming and each year he continues to amaze me in the things he says and does.

No matter what this year brings for Liam, one thing is for sure, I still have my little snuggle bug who loves to snuggle with his mommy every night before bed, cuddle on the couch while watching tv and who tells me he loves me... "more EVERYDAY" as he says it.  He may grow up, but he'll always be my baby.

Besos,
Julie

Sant Jordi 2013

Sant Jordi is hands down one of my favorite holidays here in Barcelona.  It's the Valentine's Day of Spain but better.  Streets are lined with kiosks of flower and book vendors.  Men give women roses and women give men books.  It's a beautiful exchange and you see men and women walking around holding their precious books and roses all day.

But my favorite part of Sant Jordi has always been the festival at the kids' school.  Normally it's just the elementary school and maybe some volunteer upper grade students.  But this year it was actually grades nursery - 11th.  It was a looonnngggg afternoon but well worth it.  Every time I see this festival, I get teary.  This is a big reason why I'm so glad my kids got to have the experience of living abroad.  They are learning about culture when they don't even realize they are learning.  And learning goes beyond math, reading and science - it's about the arts, language, culture and more.  And every time I see this festival I think, "we are so lucky to experience this and god, I love this school!".  Every time.  This year was no different.

However, this year, Liam actually participated in the dancing part.  The last 2 years his classes only did a little mini parade before the elementary started the performances.  But this year he's a big kid and he is in elementary now and it shows.  While all the grades did a great job, I have to give big kudos to these kindergarten kids - it's their first big performance, it's a lot of steps to memorize and they were amazing!!  I actually think that theirs was one of the best performances of the day just based on what skill sets they have at age 5/6 and the complexity of their dance compared to the other grades.  But maybe I'm just biased :)

Liam and his partner, Ruby... she was a take charge kind of gal as you'll see in the video

Liam chatting with his friends before the festival starts

It's kindergarten's turn!  Liam is the third group on the right....

Liam and Ruby are the second group on the left

The boys on their knees, soooo cute!  Liam is the 2nd boy on the left

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi1W2D0rwmk&list=UUyt6kiLugGYJxi2bfgGMRmw&index=1

Liam's performance - watch for Ruby making sure that Liam is standing "just" right

Aidan was actually pretty excited about his dance this year.  Normally he shies away from this kind of stuff.  But I think being partnered with his best friend, Max, made all the difference in the world.  He was all smiles which melted my heart - I loved that he was having fun with this!!  I did notice that the moment he got back to his class he was immediately stripping off the polo shirt and the Vanns.  Some things never change I guess :)

Aidan is the third from the left

Paired up with the girls, for a moment

Aidan is first on the left

Aidan and Max doing their part of the dance

Aidan and Max on the left

And again

Chatting after their performance is done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqj7zpD6ids&list=UUyt6kiLugGYJxi2bfgGMRmw&index=2

A video of Aidan's 3rd grade class performance

I look forward to seeing next year's festival and seeing how much these two have grown over the course of a year.  Feliz Sant Jordi to everyone!!

Besos,

Julie

Out in the Country

Let's face it... I miss the countryside.  I know Attleboro isn't exactly the country, but we had grass and trees.  That counts for something.  And for a girl who grew up in the boonies with woods and fields as far as the eye could see, that made for a lot of play space for me and my friends.

Aidan and Liam are growing up in the city and there are times when this is a great thing.  They've become incredibly city saavy and know their way around.  They know to stop at every crosswalk and look before crossing.  They know the cars will hit them otherwise and not think twice.  For Liam, I don't think he recalls a time where he had an actual yard.  Aidan, on the other hand, does remember and there are times when he is drawn to the great outdoors.

About 2 weeks ago Liam had a birthday party in Valldoreix, a suburb of Barcelona.  The little boy lives in a house with a yard and a pool.  The look of yearning on Aidan's face broke my heart.  He asked why it was that we couldn't have that.  The explanation was multi pronged and didn't really help him towards getting what it was that he wanted.  But I totally understand where he was coming from.

It's weird though.  I've never lived in a city until we moved to Barcelona and yet, I love the city life.  I love that I was able to function without a car for 3 years.  And that I don't actually need my car every day here.  I love that I can walk or take public transit to meet up with friends and that if I have a few too many (which hey, it happens to all of us), I don't have to worry about how I'm getting home.  I love that everything is within close proximity to me.

But yet, I get it.  Having grown up in the suburbs, I want the boys to have the same as what Josh and I had growing up.  Woods to play in, grass to roll around in a street to ride their bicycles on where they don't have to stop at every single corner (Aidan won't even ride his bike here and Liam refuses to learn).  Alas, we only have 2 years left here and have no intention of moving yet again within Barcelona.

So to make up for it, we are committing ourselves to getting some more of the great outdoors with the boys.  Now that we have a car, these locations have become much more accessible to us.  In January, we walked a trail in Collserola Parc that took us to a restaurant called Can Borrell with some of our friends - Aidan stayed home and missed out on some good outdoor fun.  The restaurant isn't anything to write home about but the walk out to it is.  Trails lead off the main trail on a regular basis and there were bikers, horseback riders, hikers and people just out for a leisurely stroll.  The main trail actually leads from Sant Cugat (where we started), over the mountain and into Barcelona.  Our next project is to find out where the entrances are in Barcelona so we can do some of the trails closer to home.

Anyways, we so enjoyed that trip that this weekend we decided to do it again.  Off we went with our friends and each of the boys had a friend with them making it all the more fun.  They explored every inch of woods, made up stories as they went - they were pokemon, pirates and ninjagos.  And I'm sure so much more that I just didn't catch.  They found areas of water with newly born tadpoles - something I don't think any of the kids had ever really seen before.

Liam and Henry

Tough kids Aidan and Max

Lots to explore!

Tadpoles!

Little kids HAVE to follow the big kids up the hill

And now the big kids chasing the little kids

Ahhh nature :)

Horses!

Exploring all that nature has to offer

Aidan has found a dead snake that he then proceeded to throw at me (you probably heard my screams in the US)

Liam and Henry examining the dead snake... from a distance

We ate lunch and while the adults finished up, we were totally comfortable with the kids playing along the trail outside the restaurant - they weren't even in our line of sight.  But we trust them and we trust the very child friendly people of Barcelona.  They played long and hard - and it showed.  These kids were filthy by the time all was said and done.  But sometimes, it's really great to get good and dirty outside, it's the sign of a really great time :)  Something we intend to do more of in the future!

Aidan and his best friend, Max

Liam and his best friend, Henry

Besos,
Julie