The Zorio Family

Monday, June 22, 2015

Dawson's 6th Birthday Party

On Saturday May 16, we had Dawson's sixth birthday party. His very favorite part of preschool this year has been art, and he requested a party where we "just do lots of art." So, that's exactly what he got!

Dawson invited LOTS of friends and his entire class from school. In attendance were Daddy, Mommy, Carter, Nora Kate, Lolly, Pop, Uncle Logan, Nana, Grandad, Aunt Emily, Hailey, and the following friends with their parents: Carson, Harper, Colt, Charlie G., Olivia, Nora T., Charlie T., Finley, Elizabeth, Caroline, Ellie, Johnny Mac, Rowen, Alex, Bailey, Alexa, Jackson, Campbell, and all their wonderful parents. We had a great turnout and lots of fun.

When the kids first arrived they all got to decorate an apron with fabric markers. They were supposed to wear this the whole time to protect their clothes-some did, some didn't. Then they got to take theses home at the end!

The next project was for each kid to paint their own canvas. I had tons of extra canvases so some painted two! They had fun painting these!

For weeks before the party my parents and I had been carefully cracking our eggs each time we cooked with one to allow the egg to come out through the tiniest hole possible. Then we washed them out wish soap and allowed them to dry. I then filled the egg shells with bright colored paint. By party day we had 68 eggs filled with paint!! This was more than I had hoped for so I was pleased! We purchased a BIG canvas and propped it up against a tree and allowed the kids to take turns throwing the paint-filled eggs against the canvas! The kids thought this was SO cool!! I LOVED how wild and fun this canvas turned out, and we now have it hanging on the wall in the playroom over the sofa! It's perfect and reminds us of all the wonderful friends we have that helped us to make it!

The kids then got some time to run around and play time while we were setting up the food. It was hot and the kids had been playing hard so they were ready to eat! We had Papa John's Pizza, "Paint Chips" (potato chips), a Color Wheel of Fruits (red strawberries, orange cantaloupe, yellow pineapple, green grapes, blue blueberries, and purple grapes), "creative juices" (kool aid squeezes of various colors), ice cream and cake. Dawson had asked for a cake that was all different colors. Nana had shared a video with me of how to make a checkerboard inside cake of various colors, and I figured I'd try it. It was time consuming, but the end result was great! Dawson was so happy with it and that's what mattered! Oh, and it tasted pretty good too! I had put the menu on these tiny little easels I found at Target to go along with the art theme.

After we everyone ate and we sang happy birthday to Dawson, it was the long awaited pinata time! Dawson always loves a pinata, and this was his request. I found a "6" in primary colors so it went along with the art theme/color theme just fine. We filled it to the brim with candy, and the kids took turns hitting it. FINALLY it broke open and the kids gathered their candy!

We didn't do true goody bag favors for this party, but the kids got to take home a fair amount of goodies. Their "favors" included their personalized apron they decorated, their canvas(es) they painted which had dried just in time for them to take home-the heat helped us out on this one!, and all the candy from the pinata!

After the party was over Dawson (and Carter) kept talking about how fun it was! I'm so glad we could give Dawson such a fun party that was how he wanted it with "just a lot of art," a cake with a lot of colors on it, and a pinata! I'm thankful that Dawson has such wonderful family and friends to come help him celebrate his special day!

This party (like Carter's in April) was held in Lolly and Pop's backyard since our backyard was still under construction having stone stacked on the back of the house and having the yard regraded. Thank you, Lolly and Pop!

Color wheel of fruit

The kids had a great time climbing in the trees at the party! It was so funny, they all gravitated to the trees!

Made these big signs all about our boy!

decorating their aprons

canvas painting time

We let Dawson throw the first egg filled with paint at the canvas

GREEN

Carter is ready to throw an egg!

Nora Kate's buddy Campbell was there. He LOVED her hairbow, almost as much as I love this sequence of pictures!

Check out the inside! Just like he wanted!

Yum yum!

Pinata time!

Party friends...

The one thing Dawson asked for as a birthday gift was this caterpillar Melissa and Doug umbrella! We gave it to him on his party day (so it wouldn't be overshadowed by his basketball goal on his actual birthday) HE WAS SO HAPPY!

After the party the kids showered and bathed and then Dawson got to open his gifts. He was so excited, and we are thankful for such great friends and family!

Nora Kate thought it'd be fun to crawl back in a gift bag!

Totally out of order (why does it do this sometimes?!), but here are more party pics!

The finished product!

these were our little easel food labels

What a party?! So fun! SO Dawson! Lots of art. Being outside. Cake. Sounds perfect for our Dawson!

Dawson is SIX

It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that John and I were anticipating the arrival of our first born! Painting his room, buying a crib, taking childbirth classes...how could SIX years have passed so quickly?!
On Thursday, May 14 Dawson turned six!! These last six years may have flown by, but they have been filled with more joy for our blonde haired, blue eyed, 7 pound 13 ounce baby boy than we could have ever imagined! After Dawson was born I remember that I would just sit and look at him in disbelief that he was our's...although there was no denying it because he has always looked so much like his Daddy! :) We have loved ever minute of these first six years with our precious Dawson Andrew!

At six Dawson seems like such a big kid to me all the sudden! He can do so many things, and he is becoming more and more independent. Dawson was VERY excited to turn six. The week after his birthday he came home from Kindergarten Readiness one afternoon and said, "Did you know that some kids in my class are ONLY FIVE?! They're still just five." He had been six for 4 days! I reminded him that he was "only five" a few days ago. I think being six and being one of the older ones in his readiness class has made him feel big and special because he's mentioned this a couple of times! I have already posted Dawson's 6 year old interview with Dawson's opinions, likes, etc., so this update will just provide a little more details on what our blue eyed boy is like at 6!
Dawson still wants to be a farmer when he grows up, and his description of his farm gets more and more specific-he tells us what each person's jobs will be, what plants he will grow, what animals he will have, what tractors he will have, and much more! He talks about this to the point that Carter will say things like, "One day when I go to live on Dawson's farm, I want to ride his Gator!" Dawson may look like his Daddy, but he's quiet the little planner like his Mommy!
Reading...Dawson still really enjoys his books. We have continued reading chapter books to him which he really enjoys. We have also worked on reading several beginning readers, and he's picked up several sight words along the way too!
School...This year Dawson went to a 3 day a week preschool where he was in the Kindergarten Readiness program. He went 9-1 each of the three days. He had a good school year, and only missed one day (and that was back in the fall when we went to Asheville to visit friends and let him skip!). He LOVES to talk about his school friends-most commonly mentioned are Carson, Evan, and Rowen. He's so funny, he will sometimes be talking about Evan and call him Ev-like he's given him a little nickname like boys do. They're really sweet friends. Dawson's teachers this year were Mrs. Cherry and Mrs. Wilson. His FAVORITE part of school was getting to go to art class every day! Although Dawson did just fine with going from 2 mornings a week to 3 mornings a week from last year to this year, it felt like WAY too much! We missed him so much at home, and usually by Thursday morning he was content to stay home and play after three days in a row at school. I know, I know, next year will be a whole new ballgame with him going 5 days a week, but we are just not even thinking about that right now!!
Sports...This past year Dawson has played three sports. He played fall soccer for the second time. Then he played Upward Basketball at our church for the firs time. Dawson had two good friends on his team-Carson and Bailey. AND John was one of the two coaches. Dawson absolutely loved basketball, and I loved watching him play! And now we are mid-season with his second year of baseball. He is playing Outward TeeBall, and John is helping to coach his team. The coach pitches three then they hit off the tee, so it's a little bit of both. He's doing great, and his favorite part of the sport is sliding into base!
Family Life...Dawson continues to be a good big brother to Carter and Nora Kate. As I mentioned, I think he's really feeling a lot older here lately because I catch him lecturing Carter or Nora Kate saying things like, "I know you're only three, Carter, but you just can't ___." Usually Dawson is right, that Carter (or Nora Kate) shouldn't be doing whatever it is, but still! Dawson's favorite person is his Daddy! If given the choice to be with me or John, I know he would pick John every time. John can be going on the most boring errand, and yet Dawson will still ask to tag along. Dawson and Carter still share a bedroom, and they both still love it so I don't foresee us changing this anytime soon. I think it's good for both of them.
Sleep...Dawson wakes up every morning at 7:30 and goes to be around 8 each night. He naps 4 days a week for about an hour. He gets to skip nap on Saturday and have extra time with John. He also skips Tuesdays and Thursdays and he and I do "school" at the kitchen table while the little ones nap.
A few more little things I want to remember about our sweet Dawson at age 6:
-Dawson still sleeps with Panda that he's always slept with, but here lately he hasn't been caring about it as much.
-Dawson has really gotten into playing little legos here lately!
-Anything Dawson can do or play outside is his favorite! In his 4 year update I wrote, "If he had his way, we would spend every waking moment outdoors" and this is still true!
-Dawson loves to help me in the kitchen.
-Dawson is SO talkative. He talks ALL THE TIME...so does Carter.
-Dawson is compassionate, talkative, kind, smart, occasionally mischievous, and loving.

I waited and waited to post this update so I could include Dawson's official stats from his checkup which wasn't until June. Dawson did amazing at his check up. He was such a trooper having to get THREE shots AND a finger stick. He did great on the hearing and vision tests and answering all the questions from the doctor and nurse. Dawson is in the 90th percentile for height and the 70th percentile for weight. Dr. Booher said this was perfect! He weighs 50 pounds and is 47 1/2 inches tall.

So here's our big six year old!

Dawson is SIX

When Dawson was three I started teaching him to make his bed. There were days it drove me crazy because he made it with so many lumps and the covers turned crooked, but I was DETERMINED not to go behind him and fix it. I knew that if I did this he would think he hadn't done a good job. I know I've blogged about him making his bed in probably his 3 and 4 year old updates and said it wasn't perfect but I was still proud of him for learning. Well, here's the awesome thing--now it usually always IS perfect or pretty close to perfect! I snapped this picture one day after he had made his bed just like normal--on his own, without help. I wouldn't change a thing! So proud of this boy!

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Dawson's First Six Years

This was about half way through my pregnancy with Dawson.

Two days before my graduation from UAH we found out that our baby was a BOY! So Lolly and Pop got Dawson a UAH onesie in blue at my graduation! It was always special to me when he got to wear this! This was such an exciting time between graduating from college and expecting Dawson!