Dear William (72 months)

Dear William,
Today you are 72 months old.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This month you had some swim lessons at the neighborhood pool.

Carl, the Foothills Green resident bluejay

You did some hiking with your dad.

You didn't go to Horsetooth Rock, although, you went near it.

A couple of your friends had birthdays in July.  You attended your second ever party at Chuck E. Cheese.

You also attended your first ever sleepover at a friend's house.  The slumber party happened to coincide with your father's Never Summer 100K race.  I dropped you off and then headed to the mountains.  You were very brave.  I heard that you didn't go to bed until midnight, and you woke up at 6am.  You still weren't ready to go home the next day when I picked you up.

That weekend was a very busy one: you also got a chance to visit with your cousins Logan and Mackenna and your Aunt Michelle and Uncle Mark when they stopped in from Ireland.  You and Logan had so much fun playing together.  He knows a lot about dinosaurs and planets--both things that interest you.

Speaking of planets, you still love planets and outer space.  We built a model of the planets using fruits.

And you had your first visit to the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder.

You also did other sciency things, such as help me bake:

 

And experiment with colors.

It was very early in the morning.  Your eyes are still small.

You got a little crazy playing with your BFF.

And then you got to have another slumber party when our Illinois friends came to visit!

You showed them how to boulder:

Then we took a trip to RMNP.  Can you believe, with all our traveling and camping this summer, we had not yet camped at RMNP?!

Aspenglen Campground

You convinced me to play frisbee with you.

Planning the day.

We didn't even unpack when we got back from RMNP because by then it was time to leave for our second big trip of the summer (the first one being Yellowstone/Tetons).  We hit the road for Illinois, for you to see your grandparents, and for mama to run Howl at the Moon.

Camping in the town park in Casey, Iowa.

We made it to Grandma Nan's and Paw Paw's just in time for you to get to see your cousins again before they went back home to Ireland.  You and Logan played so hard you both nearly fell over with exhaustion.  I wish you got to play with Logan and Mackenna more often.

Cousins, identical cousins

Then it was time to leave for Grandma Barb and Grandpa Bruce's.  They had gotten you a giant cake.

Mama went for a nice little 8 hour run while you spent time with your grandparents.

We made sure we were back at home in Colorado for your real birthday.  You had cantaloupe and coffee cake for breakfast!

You were very excited to open your presents.  It was a very space themed year.  You were so thrilled with your new toys.  You especially loved your astronaut suit (which will double as your Halloween costume).  You wore it all day long, even though it was hot.  It looked great on you.

In the evening we took you over to campus, where they were having an ice cream social and concert.  When we got there, the music was so loud it hurt your ears, they were out of ice cream (you had a cherry popsicle instead), and then it started pouring down cold rain.  They had to close the big inflatable slide you'd been waiting in line for.  You looked a little disappointed.  For a minute I thought you might start to cry.  But then you looked up at the sky and saw the most beautiful double rainbow.  You squeezed my hand and smiled and told me this was the best birthday ever. 

William, I love you all the way to the end of the rainbow and back again.  I'm the luckiest person who ever lived, because I've got you.

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM!  And onward, to another year of adventures.

Love always,

Mama