Paulie is 6!

Well, we had a wonderful day for Paulie, although it was a few weeks ago. Since we had a big party last year, we decided to have a 'surprise day'. This is an idea my mom came up with when I was little...during the day we would have various games and small wrapped presents for my sister and me, and then we would end up at many different surprising places. she would let us pick whether we wanted a party for our birthdays or a 'surprise day', meanwhile crossing her fingers that we would make the right decision. I did a little finger crossing of my own this year, and Paulie had a 'surprise day'. We had a wonderful time. First we woke up and had a few presents with Paul before he left for work. Then we got dressed and headed out the door...to our first destination. We drove about a half hour to a neighboring town and their science center. We had only been there once before, so it was something new and different. The kids had a great time, especially Paulie, who always loves that kind of thing. There actually was only a couple other families in the whole place, so they did a little science demo about static electricity. The picture you see with Paulie and Anna sitting at a table is the demo, and those were really the only kids in the whole museum. Its very small to say the least, although fun because there are activities for all ages.
After spending a few hours there, we left and went out for lunch, followed by ice cream. Wow...after that, I was tired and ready to go home!
Before dinner, the kids painted some wooden model cars that I had picked up, and the had a good time with that too. We had pizza for dinner, and then foosball cake for dessert.
What a day. Paulie got a couple games, including Whoonu, a cranium game the the whole family really likes. He also got a pair of Crocs, clothes and a great book with experiments, jokes, etc. that he carries everywhere. We got him a nice canvas teepee made by a woman online, as well as a bunch of great picture books.
I can't believe how much he has grown up in the past year. I looked at the blog for his 5th birthday and back then he got a superman cape and still played with trains. That is all in the past now. He loves to play dressup, but he his so much more mature for some reason. He really is such a funny little guy. The other day, I was giving him a hug. He pulled a knock-knock joke out of thin air that he had read in a book and made me really laugh...
knock-knock
who's there?
Butcher
butcher who?
Butcher little arms around me.

He still loves school and reading, but he is getting a lot more coordinated than he ever was and is also getting much more brave. We love you Paulie!!!
ps-I am almost done with his quilt. I will post a picture of him with it when I am done.

Here are some more pictures from his birthday...