More iphone shots....

Here we are at the "Author's Celebration".  Mia is quite the writer and it was a total honor to watch as she read some of her work.  We parents were able to leave comments for the kids before we left.  I wrote, "You have a beautiful voice and I love reading and hearing your work.  Never stop speaking your truth and telling your stories.  Never.  From one writer to another, keep on writing." 

So cards don't get much better than this.  Luca too is a budding writer. 

Luca brought this home the other day and he drew it on one of the very first days of kindergarten.  I pictured him last August, just barely 5, still tan from the summer, sitting in that brand new kinder classroom.  I smiled when I looked at this picture and I said, "Oh...so sweet....did you draw the two of us way back in the fall?"  He said, with a straight expression, "You wear a number 7 jersey too?!  No, Mom.  That's me and Elway.  Obviously."
 

Luca is on his first coach pitch team this year!  Love this kid in his jersey. 

Luca's Kindergarten Performance

Luca and his fellow kindergarteners performed for parents last week in the annual "A-Z Program".  It was darling, full of animated tiny kiddos who bumped into each other and sang their hearts out on stage. 

A few loose pictures...

The team

This is by far Luca's favorite sport. 

My birthday dinner.  Totally appropriate that this pic is sandwiched in a bunch of soccer pictures.  My birthday, preceded by Tiny Buddy's birthday, gets a quick nod and then it's back to business as usual. 

Hat Trick!!!  This kid gets a hat trick at every game.  At Luca's last game, after his third goal, V and another dad threw their hats onto the field announcing HAT TRICK.  Luca was thrilled. 

The Party

Nana got Luca this GIANT stuffed Lion which he adores.  He is currently obsessed with big cats and requested anything to do with wild cats for his birthday.  We all now love our new roommate....LION. 

Let the bowling begin....Luca couldn't decide between his new Peyton Manning jersey or his new NY Yankee t-shirt.  He went with the Yankees. 

Cousins!

No party is complete without family. 

These boys are just darling.  The best of friends.  He only invited three boys to his party....these three.  The bond is tight and why mess with a good thing. 

He originally requested pronghorns on his cake.  Then he requested pronghorns bowling.  I told him that image would be difficult to create.  So, he chose this incredible picture of one of his favorite big cats. 

My family.  TOTAL sophisticates. 

Hadley, Nana, and Tilly.

The parents. 

Mia won this HUGE fish.  She was thrilled!

I stood back.  These boys were hopped up on cake and soda.  Nothing could stop them in the arcade. 

Luca's 6th Birthday!

Luca celebrated his sixth birthday with a bowling b-day party with friends and family AND the long awaited special family dinner with Nana and Nonna at a "fancy" restaurant.  We began the tradition way back over thirty years ago when my own parents took me to a beautiful dinner to celebrate my 6th birthday.  When Mia turned 6, we took her to Morton's and we knew that Luca's time would come.  We felt lucky that Nana and Nonna could join us again!  We went to Ocean Prime downtown and were spoiled with an incredible meal.  Nothing says six like a huge dinner bill. 

Behold....Luca's sixth dinner....

Luca knew this night was special and was really excited to be the center of attention. 

We game Luca a Peyton Manning jersey for a birthday present and he ran to the bathroom at the restaurant to change.  So adorable. 

Our group shot!  This restaurant is fantastic.  We were seated upstairs overlooking Larimer Street. 

The place was nearly empty on a Sunday night so the kids and V gravitated to the swanky bar near our table to watch some hockey.  I asked the bartender, "Are you o.k. with tiny sports fans sitting up here?"  He assured me that the company was a delight. 

I always find a selfie or two on my phone. 

The birthday boy. 

He was thrilled to be treated like royalty. 

Should I be embarrassed that our family picture is at the bar??

These two can only be civilized for so long. 

I LOVED this touch.  When we took Mia to Morton's several years ago to celebrate her 6th, they printed "Happy Birthday Mia" on the menu.  When V made these reservations, he mentioned that touch and asked if this restaurant could do the same for us.  Seeing Luca's face as we all sat down and opened our menus was priceless.  He saw his name in print on the top of the menu and smiled.