Half a Decade!

We've reached a big milestone...we have a child who's half a decade old! Michael and I were kind of in shock all day about it and would stare at each other in utter disbelief when we thought about it. Ha! I remember when I turned five (I really do) thinking what big stuff I was because I was halfway to ten. Boy, five sure is little now. And yet getting "big". It's exciting and frightening at the same time. Since we were going to Great Wolf Lodge just two days after his birthday, we didn't do a big deal. Just had family over for cake, ice cream, and the pinata that he'd been asking for for 364 days. Three pictures. That's what I've got for such a big occasion...

This is the first time I've ever attempted a "real cake"...something shaped like something other than a rectangle and even out of the pan! Ha! Definitely not my forte...clearly. Because this was supposed to be a crocodile. Looks more like a sea monster but oh well. Evan liked it. That's all that matters.

And this picture is included because this is classic Evan! These are the eyebrows he does when he's really mad at you. Here everyone was singing Happy Birthday but Anton, our neighbor, was doing that cha-cha-cha thing, I think. And Evan didn't like it...obviously. Michael and I are quite excited to show him this picture because every time he does this we just laugh because he looks like such a goof. And we tell him enough with the eyebrows. Now he'll be able to see what we're seeing. Think it will change anything? Yeah, me either. That attitude is probably only going to get worse, right? Lucky us.

And, well, this is the random motorcycle pinata he picked out. This was two days after Daylight Savings Time ended and it was 8:00 p.m. Yeah, it was pitch dark. The things we do!

Evan, oh how we love our big boy! We never fail to remind you how we didn't think you would live when you were born because you weren't breathing and six nurses came in and took a minute to revive you. We remind you of how lucky and blessed we are to have you and how much we appreciate having you in our family. Hope you never get tired of hearing that story. You are definitely strong-willed. That's the difficult part. The easy, wonderful part of having you around is that you are a big love. With all of us, but especially with Parker. Has there ever been a baby so loved by a sibling? I think not. You also usually play really well with Maren and are nice to share your things with her. You have started getting helpful in big ways like helping to empty the dishwasher or take out the recycling and I love that! Sometimes you do, too, but usually it takes some coaxing on my part. You like to watch shows and play games on the computer and I'm sure you feel completely deprived because you get such limited time to do those things, but hopefully one day you'll thank me. :-) Your favorite activity is playing with Play-Doh. It will hold your attention for a long time! The bad thing is the mess. But as many times as I swear off that stuff, I keep going back to the store and getting you more when it all dries up. I can't keep it from you because you love it so much. You used to be a pretty good eater but you're reining in your adventurous spirit when it comes to food. Now you're swearing you don't like things that you haven't even tried. Typical, huh? And once you psyched yourself out while you were eating the tuna casserole and you threw up (side note: Today Evan gave Parker a kiss on the mouth and said, "Parker, your spit tastes like tuna casserole."). You like to retell that story. Sometimes you are so timid and cautious and then there are other times when you do things completely out of your box (think Great Wolf Lodge slides!) and you amaze me. You are so smart and I don't know where you learn 75% of the things you know. I know Dad teaches you a lot and I teach you a little but I think you just sponge information up. You are also really funny and an amazing jumper (you should see his split jump...seriously!). For all these things and thousands more, Evan, we love you so, so much. We could not feel more blessed to have you in our family. Happy 5th Birthday!