Chet is 6!

This boy has been planning his birthday for months, actually, once his last Birthday was done he began planning for this one. He let me know how he wanted the house to be decorated and what colors he wanted, what I should make for every meal...He has been letting us know what would be the perfect birthday presents for months. The morning of his birthday he woke up at 5 am...which makes me nervous for Christmas morning. He waited as patiently as he could during my workout and then he was able to open his presents before Tanner left for work. 

Mariah and Austin both picked out gifts for him and it was so sweet to see how excited they were to give their gifts. Mariah even bought hers with her own money. And Austin went to the Dollar Store with me and roamed the aisles until he had found the perfect gift. It wasn't easy because he thought Chet would like almost everything he walked by. 

 Walkie Talkies from Austin and "a pancake bigger than my head, bigger than dad's head!" with whip cream and blueberries, as requested. 

Grammie and Papa Ralph got him a mitt, ball and bat and he has only conked himself on the head once with the bat. Mariah and Austin also got a glove and ball too so we've begun daily baseball practice. 

Tanner was on call for his birthday so we ate his birthday dinner of hotdogs without dad and then hustled to their first soccer game. Mariah and Chet both did so great and it was fun to see their faces when Tanner made it. Probably the best present Chet got that day. His team even sang him Happy Birthday. 

We had cake on Saturday when the Hilton family could be there. Chet has had cupcakes for the last couple years and was adamant that he got a cake. He wanted to pick out the flavor and design. We went to a website and scrolled through a lot of cakes. He decided a candy bar cake looked the most delicious. He wanted a road and race car on the top. He helped make the cake and then decorate the top. He made his very own checkered banner and picked the "shiniest car" to go on the top. We had to get gummy bears to be spectators for the race. 

 He didn't even care that the cake was a little lopsided (I'm not a professional, or perfectionist) 

I think it was a happy couple days for him and it was fun to show him how special he is to us. And now for his sixth year interview...

Mom: What is your favorite color?

Chet: Green and Black

Mom: What is your favorite food?
Chet: Hot dogs and pizza and ice cream and lollipops and suckers! (And this is why I don't let him choose his own meals on a daily basis. But the boy can sure eat; his slim build is very deceiving.)

These Iowa State Fair corndogs were delicious...good enough to go back so we can all order one.

Mom: What is your favorite animal?
Chet: Horse 

Mom: What is your favorite book?
Chet: About every book (He doesn't love reading on his own but loves being read to. He begs Mariah to read to him and she is pretty great and most often does.)

Mom: What is your favorite movie?
Chet: Peter Pan 

Mom: What is your favorite song?

Chet: Let's Get Down to Business (Be a Man from Mulan) His favorite primary song is The Army of Helaman and he loves to belt that one for his bedtime song. 

He pulled out his most recent loose tooth by tying it to the end of his dart gun and letting the shot pull it out. Anyone he got the chance to talk to the next week or two after that heard the story. 

Mom: Who is your scripture hero
Chet: Captain Moroni

Mom: What is your favorite dessert?
Chet: Ice Cream, cake and lollipops

Mom: What do you like to do for fun? 
Chet: Play sports, wrestle my dad, ride bikes

Chet boy has so much energy...the only time we can get him to sit is for a movie or book; otherwise he is always on the go.

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?
Chet: Read

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
Chet: Play soccer

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mariah?
Chet: I like when she reads to me. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Austin?

Chet: Play with race cars (Those two are the best frienemies...they can be playing along great and the next second they are duking it out complete with sound effects)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Eliza? 
Chet: Sit by her during mealtimes.

Mom: Who is your best friend?
Chet: Charlie, Mariah, Dad, you, Austin, Eliza and all the friends I've had. 

Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Chet: A cowboy and soccer player

We love our Chet boy. He'll talk your ear off and you better not make any idle promises to him because he'll never forget them and make sure that you never forget either. As long as we make sure he is well fed and well rested he is a happy boy who is up for anything. He is my hard worker and loves to do things outside for me. The other day he helped me haul some yard waste to our burn pit and was concerned that he wasn't helping enough. He now can bring the trash can up the lane to our house and runs right out when I ask him to do it. While he can get frustrated with his siblings I can see that he usually tries his best to be patient and show kindness to them. He wants to do what is right and it has been wonderful to see the boy he is becoming.