Jalen Turns Seven

I still think of Jalen as a little boy so his birthday this year kind of caught me off guard. Seven doesn't seem so little, especially since that means next year he will get baptized. He has changed so much this past year. It has been a great year for him as he has faced challenges and started learning to control his emotions.

We don't do birthday parties every year. This year Jalen got to invite a friend to go do something fun so he chose to take his best friend, Ian, to Frankie's Fun Park. (Ian's brother, Josh, also posed for the photo.)

Jalen loves to go to Frankie's. They have go-carts and motor boats and slides and mini golf, but all Jalen ever wants to do is play the arcade games. That's okay with us (much cheaper!).

I didn't realize that I forgot to take pictures of Baylie - whoops!

After Frankie's, we came home and made pita pizzas.

Then Jalen opened his presents. He was so sweet and let Ian help open them

Jalen's cake was AMAZING. My friend that makes them uses all local, organic ingredients. If you're in the Columbia area, check out her website.

Jalen LOVED it. (I'll spare you photos of my previous pathetic attempts.)

Thinking of his wish (forever!).

The inside of the cake was as pretty as the outside and it was DELICIOUS. (We didn't finish it until Saturday and it was still great!)

The black frosting was a bit messy.

Jalen's actual birthday was Thursday. On that day, he opened his present from Aunt Tiffani. It was a big hit. This boy loves his superheroes.

When I asked him what he wanted for dinner, he said he wanted to eat at a restaurant. We had some kid coupons for Texas Roadhouse so that's where we went. He was super excited. (He also got to eat what he wanted for breakfast and consequently had ice cream and cold cereal.)

He love the peanuts.

Jalen said, "Look! I made the Baby Jesus!"

On Saturday, Jalen took his birthday money and bought some Legos as well as some other things. He loved spending his own money.

So essentially his birthday celebration lasted all week!

We sure love this little boy and are so grateful for the miracle that made him ours.