Happy New Year and Zachary Turns 7!

 Living in Poipu means we frequent the green belt.  Sunday nights are my favorite night of the week, and we love spending them by the ocean.

 Zachary is not into skateboarding yet, but he was killing it down the puka.

 This picture of Kate reminds me of Zac on his big wheel.

 Zachary got confident enough to start cruising down "ninja style."

The Sunday before New Year's, I was all kinds of irritated at church.  People were hacking and coughing, complaining of sick tummies, and wiping boogers.  Everywhere.  I told Brady I was certain we'd all get sick that week.  Yep, we all did.

It started with Zachary on New Year's Eve.  When this kid gets sick, he completely shuts down for a couple days--napping three times a day, and staying put.  The rest of us try to function as normal and it takes us a while to kick a cold.  Not Zac.  He was better after 2 days.  The plan was to eat with friends, watch a movie at the park and follow it up with fireworks.  He was disappointed to miss out, so we rented the same movie and watched the fireworks cuddled up on the back lanai.

The weather was chilly, so the following Saturday, we went to the Kapa'a bike path.  Brady got acquainted with his longboard, Kate worked hard on her new bike, and Zachary and I went off together to the end.

 He made sure to find the mud holes and go through them a dozen times.

 I love this picture.  This is where Brady and I were when we got the call from Erin saying she was in labor seven years ago.  We booked it back to our car, hurried home, and got on a plane.  We were holding Zac for the first time the next day.  I can't ride on this path without thinking of the anxiety and hope and excitement we felt.  Added to that now is gratitude and so much love.

 The rope swing at the beginning of the bike path:

 Kate had her first day in Sunbeams that Sunday.  She's been ready to move up for a while.  Today she actually had her first part over the pulpit.  We wondered if she would get scared, but she stepped up to the microphone, said her scripture, and stood there red-faced and proud until her teacher told her she could sit down.  Super cute, little lady!

 Kate wants to play with Ava every single day.  We did make it to the beach again for a freezing cold outing.

 Zachary was still out of school for his birthday this year.  He started off the day with the exclamation, "HEY!  I KNOW HOW TO READ THIS NOW!"  Jillian and Eric bought this for him when he turned three, and he suddenly realized his skills could master Suess.

 We made it to the pool, jumped on the tramp, decorated cupcakes, and made it to baseball practice for his special day.  Immediately after practice, several families joined us for pizza and cake.  The house was chaos and I think I'm becoming a better mom now because I really, really loved it.

 Owen entertained everyone with his dance party moves.

 Zac and his friend, JoJo.  They've been in the same class at school for two years.  The two of them plus David plan to rent a condo together and have their girlfriends move next door when they are "old."

 It was his golden birthday--turning 7 on January 7th!!  This is the best I could come up with on our small island because I only realized it a couple days before.

 Some more expressions:

Zachary really makes us proud.  He works hard and does not mind corrections.  He doesn't get easily discouraged.  He practices piano every day, reads, and does homework without complaint.  It takes a lot of mommy effort, but he's so malleable.  He loves to play with legos and has his room's window ledges decked out as display cases for his Chima and Ninjago creations.  He absolutely thinks that trophies are worth playing hours a day, five days a week for all season.  The only thing he loves more than chocolate chip cookies is Subway.  He eats everything now but wishes he could still be on the "bite system" for dinner (i.e. one bite per year of age).  He still runs to his classroom every morning when he gets dropped off.  He makes friends easily and his idea of a good time is playing in sand or doing tricks on his board with them.  Or playing with legos.  He loves legos.  I mentioned that, huh?

Zac is sweet to his sister.  This break was adorable.  We had three weeks and most of his friends were out of town.  The weather was cold.  I worried he might get restless but he and Kate played together every day, coming up with crafts, new ways to jump on the tramp, and new games.  He taught her how to build houses and cars with legos.  They tore it up at the park.  They watch out for each other and love each other so much.  They also fight.  That's part of love.

I love his birthday and I love the circumstances of his birth.  I love that we still communicate regularly with his birth mom and I hope they are able to have a beautiful relationship together over time.   We feel so lucky and so blessed that he is our son.  (I'm allowed to be mushy on the birthday post.)  

The following Saturday we went to baseball and then off to the (dirty) waters of Pakalas.  This was my favorite surf spot for years when Mary and I first started going because the rides go forever.  Brady's never been here and we had the beach to ourselves with the Vandennakkers.

 The waves were teeny tiny, but we all took turns surfing.  See that brown water?  That's why this place has so many shark sightings.

 The following Monday was Zachary's last day of break.  It was also beautiful and finally warmer.  We met up with several friends and spent almost 4 hours digging sand and playing in the water.  These pictures are from a beach excursion earlier in the week, but they can stand in.

 Zac digs holes so deep now that I watch carefully.

 Happy New Year!  Happy Birthday to Z!