Five Years Old

Little Man's birthday celebration started last Thursday was he was able to bring treats to his pre-school class. I told him I would make or buy any treat he wanted and he chose doughnuts. Last year in pre-school one of his friends brought doughnuts and his eyes got really big and he said, "Those are really big bagels with sprinkles." Up until that point, I could get away with a bagel being a treat. No more of that. This five year old wanted doughnuts, the real kind, and that's what Kiwi and I brought.

Pre-school class plus little sister

With his birthday crown from Miss Cindy. She does such a great job with all of the kids. Little Man loves his preschool class and I can't believe he only has a couple of weeks left.

This little girl has discovered doughnuts much sooner then her brother.

After snack time, there was only about twenty minutes left of pre-school so Kiwi and I just stayed. I had a good time watching all the kids especially the way Kiwi jumped right in with them. In some situations, she will cling to me and becomes very shy, but other times this girl has no fear. Thursday was one of those times. She jumped right in and was loving it.

In fact, shortly after this picture, I had to take her out of the circle because she was becoming a distraction to the other kids. She was supposed to be sitting next to Little Man on his square, but instead she plopped herself right in the middle of the group and started being silly to make the other kids laugh.

On Saturday, we had a little pirate party at our house with a few of Little Man's friends.

Guests were welcomed with a pirate hat and their own pirate eye patch (courtesy of the dollar store).

They were also greeted by these two enthusiastic pirates. A couple kids seemed a little intimated by the eye patches and Little Man's excitement level, but most of them warmed up to the idea of being a pirate as the morning wore on.

We started by coloring pirate pictures which Little Man and I had printed off the Internet. This is when I asked the little mateys to give me their best "ARRR."

After coloring pictures, I told the kids that last night a pirate had come to our house and hidden treasure. They then went on a treasure hunt where each clue lead them one step closer to the treasure. There was one clue for each little pirate to make sure everyone had a chance to participate. I think this may have been the hit. The kids ran up and down the stairs, laughing from room to room and they discovered each new clue. Only Kiwi started crying and had to be rescued by Mike and I a couple of times lest she be trampled by the stampede of feet faster then hers. Inside the treasure box were all the treat bags that were sent home with the party guests.

Next we played "Pin the Parrot on the Pirate" which was Little Man's idea. Friday morning, we printed this guy off the internet in pieces and then colored him and glued him on butcher paper. Each child was given a parrot with a piece of tape on the back and was supposed to pin the parrot on the pirates shoulder.

Next up, was some treasure chest cake. I got this idea online at familyfun.com. I got a little nervous when I put on the top piece of cake it cracked down the middle, but lots of frosting repair and strategically placed candy hid most of it.

Enjoying their chocolate treat. Diego is finishing up a "arrr" in this picture.

My only regrets that were we couldn't invite everyone on Little Man's (and my) list. And that this is the best picture I got of Mike in his pirate attire. It is a rare occasion when he is persuaded to dress up so I really need to capture it when it happens.

(Disclosure: The other side of the pirate decorations, home made game, and treasure chest cake was a thrashed house on Friday, about three times as many meltdowns, mostly by my two year old, and a generous extra allotment of TV time. But sometimes that is just the way it is. )

Monday was the actual birthday. Little Man woke up to a breakfast, by his request, of fresh fruit, Lucky Charms, and lemonade. Lemonade seemed on odd choice to me, but it was his day.

That night we went to Red Robin. It's becoming a family tradition to go for all of our birthdays since the birthday person always gets a free meal. He loved it when the employees came and sang to him.

After Red Robin, we came home and opened presents. We had the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who live in this area over to help celebrate. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so much family who love and support our kids (and us) so much. Little Man has recently maxed out speed wise on his little three wheel scooter and has been asking for a two wheeler so that was his present from Mike and I. He was pretty excited and Kiwi is excited to know own the three wheeler.

My little (big? he's growing up way too fast) five year old.

I love celebrating my children's birthdays with them. For me it's a chance to let them know just how special they are and how very blessed we feel to have them as part of our family.

After the last of the family had left and birthday boy was sleeping soundly in his bed, Mike and I set about cleaning our house. As I picked up paper plates with cake crumbs and melted ice cream on them, I couldn't help but pause when I got to the number 5 candle with the wick all burnt out. For some reason that discarded candle lying there made me sad. As excited as I am to see my children grow up, it just seems to be flying by. I am so grateful for the five years Little Man has been a part of our family and I look forward to all the coming years have to bring us.