Give Me Five!

The boys' birthday was yesterday. They turned 5. This last year flew by and I so loved 4. It was by far our best year yet. I am very sad to say good-bye to 4 but am really hopeful for 5. It could be that 5 is the year of change with school, gym/music class changes, etc. Which means it might be a rough year for me since I'm not so great with lots of change (especially when I'm happy with where things are before the changes!).

I took the day off from work yesterday to celebrate the boys' day with them. It was a preschool day, so we kept the day "normal" in that regard. I gave E the day off. I made the boys a special breakfast - they chose oatmeal with apples. We got ready and I dropped them off at school. After a quick coffee run, I came back to share snack with them in class, play outside in the play-yard with them and their classmates, eat lunch together, read the class a story, etc. I was amazed at how excited the boys were about this concept. So sweet. I had a blast. It was also so nice to get to see first-hard what a day at school is like for them and see how they interact with their friends in class, etc. It was an ideal way to celebrate their special day - together, doing something they like.

After school, I took the boys home, got them ready for nap and tucked them in. We all tried to nap, but I couldn't. Too much going through my head, I suppose. They both napped great! S didn't get up until 5:15! The boys wanted our neighbors to come over to join us for their pizza birthday dinner. We were rather behind since the boys got up so late, but I still managed to make them some PB cupcakes with chocolate frosting (I figured now that they are 5, I could give them some chocolate). We had a very fast dinner as the boys were very anxious to get back to their Lego's but they did come back eventually so we could sing Happy Birthday to them, let them blow out their candle, and scarf down their cupcake. The boys played, the adults chatted, and we had such a nice evening. It was seriously one of the better days I've had in awhile. We did get the boys into bed very late but since they'd had their long naps it was okay. Just meant J and I were really tired this AM when we had to get up to go to work.

Happy Birthday, my little men. I can't imagine loving two little beings more than I love you. I imagine your sweet smiles - so different from each other... S, yours is sly but practically ever present; N, yours is so stunningly beautiful but it is given more rarely - and my heart just melts when it shows up. I could talk about you guys forever, I could snuggle with you every morning, I could tickle you to hear your awesome laughs (again, so different from one another but both so special) as many chances as I can sneak in, and I could kiss those beautiful faces constantly. I hope you always know how much I love you each so completely and how proud I am of the person you are now and are becoming, each so individual and wonderful. I am one lucky lady.