Seven

As of yesterday morning at 6:04 a.m. the Lanman is 7. Seven! I've probably written this exact phrase every year since he turned 3ish, but 7 is like a legit big kid age.

He has giant puppy feet and will be heading to college sometime in the next few months.

feet!

I'm not one to lament the passing of years. I feel like I squeeze every drop I can from each day, and while yes the kids are growing up quicker than the slow passage of time before JP comes home would seem to imply, I've enjoyed the heck out of all the years after 2007 and Cora's rather exceptional babyhood not withstanding, I seem to enjoy the kids even more the bigger they get. Which is all to say, I'm not sad he's 7, but I am rather surprised that he was blowing 7 candles out of his double dark chocolate brownie cake instead of say 5 or 6.

birthday donut with a birthday dino

Landon's day began, per our new tradition, with an early morning special donut trip with JP. Landon, being Landon, asked many times if Claire would come. "But this is a special trip with dad!" I tried to explain. "But Claire loves donuts!" Landon patiently explained back. I told him he could pick out any donut he wanted for his sister, and after double-checking that he could pick out a really BIG donut for Claire, he set out in the car with JP. For the record, Claire didn't give a backwards glance to her Yandon when she skipped out the door for her birthday morning donut.

B-Day continued with summer camp, JP picking Landon up super early (I think he was there for 4 hours, which has basically been the theme of this summer) so Landon could go to swim practice and participate in the team swim-a-thon which involved swimming a record number of laps and then running- basically the opposite of anything I'd want to do on my birthday, and then coming to Landon's favorite dinner (meatball strogranoff) and his carefully and agonizingly selected birthday dessert of brownie sundaes.

Presents were opened.

A monogrammed swim bag from us ("Mom! This bag has my letters on it!") with extra jammer swim suit for swim team and the game of Battleship, and a giant lego set from my parents:

Plus cards and phone calls and checks for college savings accounts. Landon actually tapped out about halfway through eating his double dark chocolate chip ganache-iced brownie with chocolate sprinkles (topped with ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry), deciding his tummy couldn't take anymore, but Claire powered right through her whole bowl. The girl is a force.

All in all I think it was a good day for our Landon. Every time I watch him with his little sisters I think that he is really the glue that holds our three happy kids together. I think it's his mellow, all-inclusive, non-possessive, non-aggressive, will-probably-live-in-a-hippie-commune someday self that sets the tone for Claire as a big sister to Cora. Landon delights in his sisters being part of whatever he is doing. He wants to help, wants to hold Cora, wants Claire to be involved in whatever he's doing. If he loves a toy he wants you to touch it, play with it, take it home and keep it! He is excited about EVERYTHING but gimme-ish about nothing. He's honestly just really fun to have around.

Smart and artistic, popular and inclusive, athletic, active, and yet a bit of an old soul. He's nothing JP and I ever imagined as a combination of our DNA and we find him as surprising as we do generally awesome.

So Happy Birthday Lanman! We really are enjoying each year more than the last.