Tanner turned 7!

Tanner had the day off of school for his birthday. It was nice to not feel rushed in the celebrations. His birthday party was the Saturday before. We went to a local park and had some fun playing soccer and beach volleyball. I kept it pretty low-key. But I did make him a football field goal out of PVC pipe and swim noodles. He loves it. I also made some sports-themed cupcakes for the kids.

His favorite gifts include a little calculator from Ashton and his kicking tee for football. One toy from us didn't work out so we gave him the gift money to spend at a sporting goods store instead. He picked a water bottle that the pros use. And maybe some new soccer cleats before the season starts next month. I think he had more fun walking around the store than actually choosing what to buy.

Tanner, at 7, is such a great kid to spend time with. He is still very competitive, which is tricky to deal with at home. Thankfully, it doesn't mess him up at school. Although, the school librarian recently started a reading competition across the school so now he tries to read as much as he can every day to win some prize. The last few days, he has read 120 minutes or more. He is motivated by setting goals and meeting them. When he got his calculator, he went outside and shot baskets until he successfully made 300 shots.

Tanner bonds well with Ashton and Lydia. Gemma and him butt heads all the time. He is trying to train Lydia to be a goalie for him. He desperately wants a sibling to play sports with him. Lydia is probably his best chance. Tanner is almost always successful on getting the neighbor kids to come play sports with him. They're between 12 and 15 years old and yet they still come out and play with him. We gave him a set of walkie talkies so he can walk down to a bigger park in our neighborhood and play sports with other kids. That way, if there is a problem, he can let me know. It's about a ten minute walk away. He likes the freedom of going to a park with more space to kick and throw. Our backyard is too small for him.

Tanner's favorite part of his day was having his best friends from down the street come over for cake and ice cream. They couldn't make it to his party, which he was sad about. He spent the whole time talking to them.

His dinner request was pizza but at a restaurant. I was quickly reminded why we don't go to restaurants.