Hard to believe our firstborn is already in school, becoming super independent, and IMO almost too smart for his own good. It’s a total bummer that we can’t lie about things to him anymore or spell things out with letters when we don’t want to say them out loud; think C-A-N-D-Y. On the upside, he’s finally doing chores around the house, and let me tell you, we’ve been waiting for him to start pulling his own weight! With four kids, the goal is to basically train them to run this place so we don’t have to. Sorry, I’m not sorry.
Really though, six seems old, right? He’s getting tall, wearing huge shoes, can count to 100, really crushing it at life from what I can tell. Especially starting kindergarten, it seems like a milestone birthday and one that we wanted to still celebrate like always, even though COVID wasn’t going to let us throw our usual Shaughnessy-style party with friends and family. So, per our usual birthday-morning tradition, I woke up early like it was Christmas Day to sneak down and make the ever-popular birthday pancakes. What are these birthday pancakes, you ask?
Let me explain.
It seems like forever ago but when B turned one, Colin and I wanted to do something special with him before we both went off to work. I decided to make pancakes because they were his favorite and it was more of a special breakfast that we didn’t make all the time. I must have been feeling extra creative that day and tried to make them in the shape of a number one and thanks to my trusty pancake pen, they actually turned out ok, too! Something told me to put sprinkles on top at the last minute and voila; a new tradition was born. Since then, we’ve made these special pancakes every birthday morning since. It’s nothing crazy but it’s special to the kids (and to me TBH) so that’s all that matters!
Beyond the pancakes, it was a normal school day so we knocked that out and then did our usual playtime in the afternoon. Scooter rides, frisbee throwing, and running circles around the backyard have become a regular part of our quarantine life and it was good to get some fresh air. The rest of the day was pretty low key but we have high hopes to celebrate with an outdoor movie night sometime soon. PS, not sure why we didn’t think to buy one sooner but having a mini projector during the summer months is so. much. fun. Highly recommend getting one if you want to watch sports, movies, basically anything you can stream on your very own, in-home jumbotron.
Lastly, the gifts. While we try SO hard to keep them humble, teach them to be gracious and endlessly thankful…make no mistake: (my) kids want ALL THE THINGS. I’ll spare you the lengthy list of birthday requests from Bennett this year but to summarize, he wanted Legos, Legos, and for good measure, more Legos. The kid is in DEEP with the Lego scene and I’m not even mad. I’ll save my love letter to Legos for another post. For now, check out a few of our favorite gifts this year for our very special six-year-old!
Osmo Genius Starter Kit / To challenge the little learners, this is one type of screen time I can definitely get behind. 
Marble Genius Marble Run Super Set / I love this marble set and how it features an app you can build along with; seriously genius! 
Lego Gadgets Builder Set / Comes with all the parts and can make some seriously cool creations. Bennett loves the catapult because boy life. 
Mindware Quirkle Board Game / A kids game that isn’t painful to play and actually makes you think! Imagine that. 
Fat Brain Toys Sky Nook / A great way to get kids outside but also because sometimes we just need to chill.
- Osmo Genius Starter Kit for iPad – or – Fire Tablet
- Marble Genius Marble Run Super Set
- Lego Gadgets Builder Set
- Mindware Quirkle Board Game
- Fat Brain Toys Sky Nook
If you have more great gift ideas, let’s hear it. Anything that keeps the tiny ones occupied is a win in my book!