Matt turns 7 - In India!

Taste and texture - that's the best way to describe my son Matt. He's always the most difficult to buy a present for because he just doesn't want very much. His wish list - whether from Santa or at his birthday usually consists of something to do with food and something to do with the art store (modeling clay, dough etc.). The great thing about this is that while Jack is emptying our wallets with his electronic and Lego requests, Matt costs us very little (in $$). On the other hand.... how do you make the day special or get him excited? Especially in India?

After talking with John, we decided to take the approach my mom used. Today became "Matt's Day". We made a list of the things he wanted to do, what he wanted to eat and put together an itinerary and menu. I was happy to follow. In my family, you got to pick your favorite foods (which is a pretty powerful thing when EVERYONE else has to eat whatever you choose), pick a gift under $10, decide what kind of cake and icing you wanted and then, the most exciting part, ... you got to choose one person you wanted to stay up with you as late as you could possibly stay up watching TV - no bedtime. My memories were of staying up until the weeeeee hours until someone finally carried me up to bed. Since my dad went to bed by 8, we were probably in bed by 10 but boy did it feel late. I think that same sense of power and control set in with Matt today and he had a fabulous day. As much as he wanted to stay up late, he quietly slipped into pj's and climbed into my bed as soon as we got home. It's 8pm.

His birthday list included:
Brunch at the Trident Hotel (yum, twist my arm)
Family Swim (I had to go to the pool but he gave me a pass on getting in the water)
Tennis with mom (twist my arm again!)
Brownie cake with icing (I actually found a brownie mix)
Go to a movie (Surfs Up - the surfing penguins - it was quite funny)

I've attached a couple pictures of our day but I hope it was memorable enough for Matt so that someday he can say - I remember turning 7 while living in India. That would be a great present for me.

ps - When I asked Matt what his favorite present or moment was - he said when he found a small purple tear shaped crystal on his plate at brunch. Jack helped me pick it out. Matt loves precious gems. He is my precious gem.