Happy 5th Birthday, Sean!!

Well, there he is!!  My 5 year old.

I don't know what it is about the age 5.  Five just sort of seems like a big kid.  Maybe it's the age?  Maybe it's that he's in elementary school now?  Maybe a combination of both?

But, it struck me one evening, as Sean and I were talking in the kitchen.  He just seems so mature suddenly.  He's smart, witty, and out of nowhere seems to know it all (and he's spot on most of the time).  And it just feels like this all happened over night!

We sat down after dinner one night last week and I asked him to make a birthday card for his grandma.  I wrote out the words, "Happy Birthday, Grandma!" and braced myself for a half hour at the table working with him on the letters.  The kid whipped the whole message out in less than five minutes and the letters were darn near perfect (for a five year old)!  I was amazed!

One month in school and what a transformation!  Barely any battles about going to school in the mornings, not tired in the evenings after skipping naps on a daily basis, independent for the most part, trustworthy, helpful, and honest!  I'm loving these qualities that come with this age.

I can't wait to gobble up all the news about his days at pick-up and he's usually pretty communicative about it too.  He attends gym, the library, art, music, and the computer lab each week and reports out on what he's learning!  They get to check out books now and he's been so excited to show me what he picked out.  And I'm so excited to report that they are still doing "Book It" through Pizza Hut!  We have a form to fill out for October and then he'll earn a free personal pan pizza!  Yes, I'll be reliving my youth through Sean!

He's finally getting more interested in drawing, but we're talking baby steps here.  It's not his first, second, or third choice when it comes to picking an activity, but he's learned to draw people better and seems a bit better about coloring/staying in the lines.  He informs us that his teacher says he needs to do, "quality coloring".  Thank you, Mrs. K!  Keep drilling that message in him.  He seems more receptive when he's hearing it at school.  :)

In case you can't tell from the pictures already, he got an abundance of Lego for his birthday.  Which was exactly what he asked for!  And it's something we really don't mind investing in.  He can build 200+ piece sets by himself following instructions with 20+ steps!  Sometimes we have to step in and help him with a piece or re-do a few steps that he messed up, but he thoroughly enjoys building them himself!  He has built 3 "Lego Cities" in his room.  Our nice train table has been converted and moved upstairs for an extra play area because a desk and a Lego table weren't enough.

Soccer is going well!  In fact, this past weekend while Grandma and Grandpa came to his game, he scored his first two goals this season!  And what a boost to his confidence that did!  I think he got why we were constantly telling him to go after the ball.  It was like a lightbulb went off in his head..."oh, so that's what soccer is all about...".

We haven't had the best luck with weather on soccer game Saturdays.  Is it just me or does it seem like it's in the 70's all week and gorgeous and then the weekends come and it's freezing cold and raining?  Figures...

We really went all out this year with birthday celebrations.  I don't even think he noticed or cared that we didn't throw him a birthday party.  On his actual birthday, he went to school and brought in goody bags for his classmates (Lego minifigure shaped crayons, coloring pages, and tattoos).  We went to Panera downtown for dinner (his choice) and walked around to see the decorated scarecrows.  Another homemade ice cream cake and presents were a great end to his special day!

The following day, Friday, was my birthday so my mom took the boys home with her after watching Evan so Scott and I could have a night out.  We went to Mexicantown for dinner at Los Galanes and got treats from La Gloria Panaderia (yum!!).  I wanted a low-key evening and that it was.  We walked the dog in the dark to the spooky house a half mile down the road from us with mugs of spiked cider, came home, made a fire, and watched Ouija (spooookkkkyyyyy!!).  A perfect evening!  And the boys were having fun at their Grandparents' house too!  Hot tub, building Lego's, popcorn and a TV show...

Saturday morning began our whirlwind of a weekend.  Scott and I rushed over to the farmer's market to get the fall essentials for the house (hay and cornstalks) before Sean's soccer game.  After an exciting soccer game in the cold, we all went back to our house for lunch.  We grilled turkey bugers and had cake and ice cream with more presents!

That evening we had a first birthday party in Clawson that we went to.  The kids were restless at the party since there wasn't much space for them to run around, so we couldn't stay too long, but we managed to grab a pizza at our favorite stomping ground, Renshaws, before heading back home in the cold rain.

Sunday morning I woke up motivated and ready to go apple picking.  It was something I hadn't done since I was a little girl and I knew I wanted the boys to try it.  We all wore our rain boots and sweatshirts since we had gotten so much rain the night before and headed out to Erwin's in South Lyon.  It was so much fun!

Apple picking, cider and doughnuts, the boys playing at the petting farm, etc.  This is what fall is all about!  And it was exactly how I wanted to celebrate my birthday with my family.

Thank goodness Scott didn't mind having muddy boots all over his coat and sweatshirt!  The boys loved getting to pick them off the trees and sample all the different kinds.  We were all so full of apples it was a miracle we made room for doughnuts!

We rushed home and got ready for another first birthday party in Royal Oak.  It was truly the weekend of birthdays!  The party was Detroit Lion's themed, so we all got decked out in our Lion's gear!  It was Scott's cousin's son's first birthday, so his family was there and we all went out to the Clawson Fall Festival after the birthday party to let the kids go on the inflatable toys and see more farm animals.  We grabbed dinner at Red Robin's on the way home and had the wait staff sing "Happy Birthday" to Sean!  He loved the free ice cream sundae and the cookies his Nana made him.

I'm pretty sure he had an incredible birthday and weekend celebrating!  And I'm pretty sure we're all in recovery mode from our busy schedule.  In fact, we skipped soccer practice tonight and got all comfy on the couch to watch a Halloween Berenstein Bears' movie from the library before bed tonight.  Sometimes you just need an evening like that...

On that note, it's bedtime for me.  So, a very big, happy birthday to my Sean!  He never ceases to amaze us with how much he's growing and learning!  We are so blessed to be his parents.  xoxo