A Friendship is Blossoming...what an amazing thing to see.

Watching my 2 boys spending time together each evening after dinner is enchanting. Tyler adores his big brother and Jack loves to make crazy sounds and gestures to get Tyler laughing. They even attempt to play the Wii together. There's a lot of love around here. And I never grow tired of watching them interact together. We are blessed, for sure.

seven

The Party

Jack's party request was, surprisingly, to return to Pump It Up this year. You might call us Pump It Up veterans as this was his 3rd birthday party at Pump It Up. And, as in years before, it proved to be a success from start to finish. And his requested theme? Why, wouldn't you know it? It was Wall-E!


This year we invited his class of 19 students. It was great to have such a cohesive group attending. Jack really fits in well with his classmates and is comfortable with each one. It was great to see them all playing together at the party. I just love this picture!! I think it speaks volumes as to where Jack is socially now.


Unlike years before, we have now entered an age where parents of the attendees don't always come to the party before the party's end. So, after school, I drove J, I, L and Jack (and Tyler, too) to the party. We stopped along the way at another classmate's house, H, to drop off a cupcake since she was recovering from a tonsillectomy and couldn't attend. The boys were so cute screaming her name from the car and waving and shouting how they love "H". The little girl was so pleased to have a 'visit' from her friends on the way to the party. And Jack was right in the middle of it all, having a blast!


At the party, everyone played together. Even Tyler was tearing down the slides! I actually couldn't believe that our 14 month old was climbing the giant slide by himself and sliding alone too!!! Don't worry, there was close supervision!

Ta dah!!!

Jack and Clarissa - best of friends

Lots of us grownups got to slide too...Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa and Mimi!

Meemaw came up from Alabama. She didn't want to miss the party!

The time flew by and soon it was time to head to the party room for cake. Jack loved every minute of it and wasn't bothered at all to be nearly smothered by all the kids surrounding him as he opened his gifts. Other than a quick "I already have this (Trouble game)" I didn't hear anything but "Thank You's" and delight.




It was a great party. It's so nice to have come to a place where we can enjoy events like his birthday party without expecting any surprises or difficulty. 7 is going to be a great year. I just know it.

Here are a few more pictures from our memorable day...

2 of Jack's great kindergarten friends

His cutie patootie little brother, who hung with the big kids like a champ!

Happy Birthday, Jack! We love you!!!!

Happy 7th Birthday, Jack!

Today, our first born woke up as a 7 year old. And he was thrilled to do so! He walked over to his new fish and said, "Hi Eve! Hi Wall-E! I'm 7 now!" He had a jam packed day...his birthday was announced on the PA system at school, he got a special present from the school office, he was the leader all day in his class, he "lunched" with Mimi, Mommy, baby Tyler and his chosen classmate and sweet friend, Clarissa. After school, Mimi and Grandpa came over to celebrate with gifts and stayed for dinner. Daddy came home from work for a few more gifts and playtime before bed. Jack's teacher commented that Jack was so happy today and was thrilled to be the only seven year old in the class!

Mimi, Tyler and Mommy had lunch with Jack today. Jack's friend, Clarissa, and Jack both got special birthday cupcakes with Wall-E on top!



Mimi and Grandpa came over after school and we all had a great time! Tyler wanted to help his big brother open his presents and checked out all Jack's gifts! Jack's favorite gifts were his Wall-E and Eve interactive RC robots. They are really cool! Below Jack is telling Tyler how they operate.



These brothers have a lot of love to share!

Here's our mini cake that we had tonite after dinner. It was perfect for our small gathering. Jack recommended that we cut it into sixths (they are learning fractions this month at school), so we did and everyone got a piece. The boys both LOVE cake! Look closely below and you'll see Tyler pointing to the cake that he was begging for!



Above is a sneak peek at the cake I made for Jack's birthday party tomorrow afternoon...

Me and my sweet boys! They are both growing up so fast! And below is a picture of Jack BEATING his Dad (no longer Daddy, per Jack) on his new mini air hockey table. Anyone want to take on the reigning champion?



Happy Birthday, my sweet young man. You have really matured in the last few months and are ready for all that being 7 brings. I am so very much enjoying watching you grow up, but slow down a little, ok? It's all moving just a little too fast for my liking. I love you to the moon and back, Love, Mommy

Take A Good Look

Take a good look...because this young man is about to turn 7. And I think he'll do nicely as a 7 year old. It suits him.

Group Tennis Lesson

Jack's school offered a group tennis lesson after school for Kindergarten and First Grade students. When asked if he'd like to attend, Jack shocked the family by replying "Yes!" He has recently had an introduction to tennis, along with a few other sports, with the addition of Wii Sports to our Wii library of games. I might add that Jack did say that he wished they were offering boxing lessons instead of tennis, but I think he would have been gravely disappointed had that been so.

Yesterday afternoon was the big day for the lesson. As it turns out, his sweet classmate, Hannah, was also attending, so he was happy to see a familiar face in the crowd. I stayed to watch, unsure whether this would be a great experience or too overwhelming. It could go either way.

Jack loved it. He participated in the group warm up exercises, the skill analysis drills and the lesson. He was grouped with a few others with no tennis experience and was so thrilled when he started to catch on to the exercises they were learning. He cheered excitedly for himself each time he was successful, which was quite endearing. His enthusiasm is contagious at times. The hour went by quickly and soon it was time to hang up the borrowed racket and head home. He was all smiles and said that he'd love to get a tennis racket for his birthday so we can return to the court.

I was so proud. Other than a little extra wiggle in his movement, a little less focus than many of the other kids and being a little bit extra vocal when sharing his excitement about his progress, he was truly indistinguishable from his peers in this event. And it was something he'd never ever done before! What an amazing accomplishment. I'm still in awe...and so very proud.

Please excuse the view from behind the fence...I was trying to remain inconspicuous. And yes, there really were other kids there. 25 to be exact. I was busy focusing on that cute boy in the blue shirt!!

First Lost Tooth

Jack lost his first tooth last night at bedtime. Initially a little creeped out, I think, he warmed up to the idea by morning. Sporting a hefty roll of quarters for his loss, Jack was proud to tell anyone who would listen this morning at church about this great event! He even scored 4 additional quarters at church from friends of the Tooth Fairy herself! Another milestone. Where is the time going? I can barely count the days...

Beautiful Boy

Here's Jack...just a few weeks shy of his 7th birthday. Hard to believe, honestly. He's definitely an all-out-kid, no longer any evidence of the preschooler he once was. He's adjusted better than we could have expected to elementary school. We just met for an IEP to reduce his Ed. Assistant's hours down to 1.5 hours per day. Amazing, really. Tonite, at dinner, he quizzed us on the 5 W's and what each one's function is in a sentence. You know, Why tells the reason. Who tells a person. How gives steps/instruction. It was so cute! I'm so thankful for everything he is learning and bringing home to share with us from school!

Checkmate! Chess, anyone? And I do mean, anyone?

This Thanksgiving, while visiting Meemaw in Alabama, Jack asked if he could play games on my laptop. Crusty old mom that I am, I had only the preinstalled games to offer. Jack asked what they were and I stated that I knew Chess was on there because I'd seen Daddy play it once. Jack said "I'd LOVE to play chess!" Sounds great, except you are 6, and you have no idea how to play chess...but I cracked open the laptop and said "Go for it, buddy!" and he did.

The actual "how he learned to play" is a bit muddy, but suffice it to say that neither Scott nor I spent more than 5 minutes explaining chess with him during that weekend and yet he walked away from the weekend a 'chess player'. And a decent one, at that!

After about two weeks of playing on the computer, and winning every now and again (on the easy setting), Jack started asking for a real chess set. With some Christmas money he purchased his very own chess set and was so proud to begin playing real head to head chess with the family!



He also purchased a book, "Checkmate! My Very First Chess Book" and proceeded to read the whole book with enthusiasm unlike anything we've seen in a long time (except for Wipeout, of course.) He loves to 'castle' and even understands en passant! What a budding champion in the making!



So, now it is January, and Jack still LOVES to play chess. He'll challenge you to a game if you come over. And if you admit you don't know how to play? Don't worry, he's more than happy to teach you! Luckily, Daddy, Mommy and Grandpa all know how to play, so there are lots of folks around to assist him with an elusive move that just might help him get checkmate. He has even hinted a time or two that he might prefer to stay home and play chess rather than go to Kindergarten!

If you read about him one day as a Master Champion Chessplayer, you'll know it all started back when he was 6 at Meemaw's house for Thanksgiving!

Wipeout - Behind the Scenes and Through the Eyes of a 6 yr old

What an amazing trip we had!!! An experience of a lifetime, for sure! It has taken me a while to post about it, because I wanted to give it the time and attention it deserved. And then my friends starting asking when it was going to be on the blog...so here it is! Better late than never, right?

The week before we left for California we were ALL sick. It was rough around the Halbert house. Jack missed an entire week of school for sickness before we took him out for 3 days for our trip! Good thing it's just Kindergarten, right? Luckily everyone at school was so supportive of this once in a lifetime experience. We flew out on Saturday morning and spent the day flying (both kids did amazing!), car rental, grocery shopping at Whole Foods, and then the hunt for our hotel. Much to our relief, the hotel was quite nice. We had 2 adjoining rooms with a kitchen. Jack enjoyed playing the onboard trivia game on the plane. He thought that was fabulous and was quite disappointed when the return flight did not have the same individual screens.

Sunday we went to Disneyland, courtesy of abc. It was disorienting to feel like you generally know the concept (since we live and breathe Disneyworld) but have no clue where anything is, having never been there before. Jack enjoyed the "new" rides but quickly decided that he likes Disneyworld better (and mentioned this loudly often while walking through the park.) We stayed until dark and then headed back to get a good night's sleep before heading North to Canyon Country.



We drove north of LA and found the set location with ease. No traffic either! We arrived just before 11a to an inconspicuous set.


Corbin, the Executive Producer's Assistant, met us and introduced us to Matt Kunitz, Executive Producer and man that made it all happen and Scott Larsen, Co-Executive producer. (They worked on Fear Factor together.)


The qualifier was already in progress, so we were immediately taken over to the set. To be honest, I expected a decent greeting and then some sort of "Sit here, enjoy yourselves and try to be quiet" kind of experience. Instead, the guys introduced Jack to everyone, showed him the qualifier and explained the obstacles, and then grabbed his hand and took off! Tommy, head of Safety, had Jack running all over the set, following the contestants as they completed the course, explaining as he went. He was amazing and kind and Jack warmed up to him, and the rest of the crew, easily.



We watched about 10 contestants complete the qualifier. Most did fairly well, but one had to be pulled out of the water on a backboard (as a precaution) after he complained of pain after falling off the big balls! Here's Jack watching a contestant...he just loved every minute of it and laughed loudly when anyone fell (as did the rest of the crew!)



We walked over to meet Jill Wagner. She was very nice. She was sweet to Jack and really paid him a lot of attention. She had him pose like he had just completed the qualifier. He loved that!



Jack handed out these cards to each of the people he met, as his way of saying Thanks. Everyone really liked the little postcard.



Jill said she was going to put hers up on her refrigerator. Way to go, Jack!

Tommy and Scott Larsen took Jack up to the ramp that each contestant stands on at the start of the qualifier. That was super cool! Doesn't he look adorable? He was having such a great time!



Here are the boys hanging out "wipeout" style. Pretty cool day for us all!


Then we went in the production trailer. That was really cool. Rupert had Jack sit beside him and let him talk into the production mike (I don't know what that thing was called, but they could hear him out there on a loudspeaker.) He counted down the contestants from 5 - 1 and then "go" as each one started the course. Jill was talking to Jack thru her mike into the trailer too. Jack acted like he'd been around this stuff his whole life!


Once all 24 contestants had completed the qualifier, they determined who were in the Top 12. Matt asked Jack to go with him to the contestants' trailer area where they were all waiting. Jack read each name of the Top 12 to the group. He did amazing! Everyone was impressed with this Kindergartener!!!


Then we had lunch, catered by Craft Services, in the wipeout trailer with Matt, Corbin and the Black & Blues. Who are the Black & Blues? They are a team of 2 guys and 2 girls who are crazy enough to try each stunt when it is created. Cousin Kenny, as he's called, was super cool and chatted with us throughout the day. It is rumored that there isn't a stunt that has been created yet that Kenny can't handle! Here's a couple of pics of Jack posing with the Black & Blues!



Scott and Jack got a tour of the Art Department, where every obstacle is made, and then we got a tour of the new Wipeout Zone from Matt. I'd show you this, but I think I'd get in trouble since the season hasn't started yet. Know that it's harder than last year, that's for sure! Matt says that they aim for a 90% fail rate for each obstacle. No wonder everyone falls! Before Jill left the set, we got some pictures with her. You'll see Scott's most prized possession of the trip as well...perhaps a 20 x 30 in his office for Christmas??



Matt took Jack to see the Dizzy Dummy 2.0, a new and improved Dizzy Dummy for Season 2. And, yes, Matt was still with us throughout most of our visit. Did I mention how nice everyone was?? He put Jack on the Dizzy Dummy and spun him, just a little. Jack posed for a few pictures and then went on the obstacle that the contestants are supposed to race through once significantly dizzy. Here's Jack diving through the lower hole. Later Matt and Scott were discussing a safety issue with this obstacle and Scott tried to go through the smaller hole on the bottom. Everyone was cracking up!



The contestants all came out for obstacle #2, which is called King of the Mountain. This replaced the former "Sweeper" obstacle. Here the Top 12 compete for 6 spots. Those 6 head on to the Dizzy Dummy 2.0. and from there the final 4 compete in the Wipeout Zone. The Dizzy Dummy and Wipeout Zone are taped on a second day of filming, so we didn't see those. The contestants were read the rules of King of the Mountain. We got to hang out. Isn't this cute?


They called Jack over after the rules were explained and Jack got to reach into a bag and pull out the contestants' names, one at a time and read them to determine their placement on the podiums of the obstacle. He did amazingly well again! He's a natural born assistant!



We sat at the edge of the obstacle's pool, beside the Black & Blues. The crew would laugh so hard (and so did we!) as the contestants were falling off of King of the Mountain! It took a long time to complete this obstacle...14 minutes or so. There's a lot of editing involved in television! I'd love to show you more, but again I'm not sure what we can show in advance of the airing of the episode next Summer! Finally, the top 6 made it to the top and it was complete! And that ended taping for the day.




We walked back to the executives' trailer and said goodbye to Matt and Scott and their staff. The day ended rather abruptly and we were having such an amazing day that ending it was a little difficult to swallow for Jack. He cried a bit and I think everyone felt bad for him. They said that they had one more place to show Jack and they took him into what was like a "war room" for Wipeout. All obstacles were drawn and hanging on the wall in order by episode. I'm sure a lot of show planning goes on in this room. Someone handed Jack a stack of Power Point style pages. Each bundle of pages is an episode and all the stunts that appear in that episode, in order. He got 4 episodes of these stunt sheets. Jack was told that this is "Top Secret", so we can't show them to you just yet. Man, are they cool, though! We sure do feel special after all of this!

So we headed back to Anaheim to the hotel and Jack reminisced about the amazing day he'd had. Later that evening he said to me, "Do you know what the worst part of the whole day was, Mommy?" When I said that I didn't know he said "the leaving." Such a sweet boy.

Jack's already asked when can we go back to California to go to another Wipeout. How exactly do you explain to a 6 year old that he just experienced a once in a lifetime event? And one that will be hard to top? I just smile and change the subject, usually.

People ask me all the time, "How was Wipeout?" My most common answer..."It was like Make A Wish without the terminal illness." It was exactly that amazing. We felt special, important, and cared for by people who don't know us from just about any other of the millions of viewers. They made a little boy so completely happy. And for that I am so grateful! Wipeout crew, you are good people in my book! We love you!