Jake Turns 6 in a BIG Way

Well, we had a birthday in our house recently.  Jake turned 6! And true to form, we celebrated in a BIG way.

The first fantastic thing that happened was that Mimi & Bubba flew in for the momentous occasion.  They got into town in time to greet Jake after school.

There was a big surprise waiting for Jake after school.  While he was busy learning stuff, all the grown ups were busy giving his room a new Big Boy look.

Think he liked it?  Judging by that grin on his face, I'd say it was a successful redo.

Jake actually knew his room was getting painted.  He helped pick out the colors.  He wanted all the walls painted yellow - since that's his favorite color and all.  But, as our painter reminded us...a little yellow goes a long way.  It took a little convincing, but eventually Jake gave in to the idea of a nice sunshiney yellow behind his bed and a nice sky blue for the rest of the walls.

The walls were hung with art, shelves, & sports memorabilia of all kinds. No doubt about it, it's a boys room.

Of course, we had to include plenty of space for all of his trophies.

For his birthday dinner, Jake requested a "healthy meal" of tilapia and broccoli.  (Can I just say how proud I am of my  kid's fantastic relationship with healthy food?!)  This was followed by one of everybody's favorite desserts - Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie.  Mmmm, mmmm, GOOD!!  Actually, it's not one of Bubba's favorites, but he managed to choke down a piece anyway.  Thanks for making the sacrifice, Bubba.  I know it wasn't easy.

Then...finally...on to the moment he'd been waiting for all week.  The PRESENTS!!  Actually, he'd been patiently been waiting to open this particular gift for about a month.  The present in this picture is from Jake's best friend Lukas who lives in Germany.  His dad brought it over earlier in the month, and poor Jake had been staring at it for what I'm sure seemed like forever.

It's no surprise that it was the first one he went for.

Legos!!  A sure-fire hit!!

And a special surprise in the bottom of the bag...a new beer cap to add to his collection!

The rest of the presents from the family stuck to a familiar and favorite Jake theme...football.  A new University of Texas football jersey...

...a Jerome Bettis figure...

...and the piece de resistance...a Pittsburgh Steelers football field floor mat!  Oh!  Let me die and go to heaven right now!!  Could it possibly get any better than this?  Why yes it could, but you've got to come back tomorrow to see just how much better!