Happy 5th birthday to Seth!

Seth turned 5 on Friday the 8th. Technically not until 10:18pm, but I let him tell everyone that he was 5 all day long. Generous of me, I know. Seth had preschool until 11:45 that morning. He loves school so much that it didn't even bother me to share him with his teachers and friends that morning. I had wanted to make really adorable treats for him to take to school but there were a few issues with that plan (more to come on that in a future post, likely) so we went with chocolate chip bar cookies with some icing and sprinkles. Very festive. I took him to school myself and took him inside, rather than through car line, so that I could help him carry the treats. One of the other pre-k teachers was high fiving him and jumping up and down telling him happy birthday. No wonder he loves school! Apparently he had been letting them know (all week) how many more days until his birthday.David had the day off. So while Seth was at school, Luke and I went to the party store and bought balloons and a few decorations. Then all four of us picked Seth up at school and headed out on Seth's birthday adventure.

First was McDonald's, of course. I only wasted a few minutes trying to convince him that he should pick something better to eat. I knew it was a lost cause, and it was his birthday so I smiled and ate my lunch. Huge bonus [sarcasm alert] - the kids' meal toys make noise this time. So, at noon on Friday the place was filled with kids and their new noise making toys. Argh.

Next, we headed to the zoo. This was Seth's big request for the day. The forecast was questionable but it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful afternoon! Sunshine, not too hot, and a great time was had by all. Only small glitch was that I thought Max would fall asleep in the stroller. I took his favorite blanket and eventually laid his seat back and thought he would just drift off to sleep in the beautiful outdoors. Instead, he kept sitting straight up so as to not miss anything. He never slept there. And Luke actually fell asleep in the car on the way home before Max did!

The penguins are always a big hit.

The polar bear swam by.

Brothers! There was a cute(?) baby elephant in the background for awhile but by the time I got both the boys to sit and look in my general direction the elephant was long gone.

Train ride! Everyone was getting a little warm and tired by this point.

Not sure what Seth was looking at here. I think it's just eagles and vultures in this exhibit. Perhaps my fear of birds has worn off on him.

When we got home I put a movie on for the boys, hoping they would lay down and get some rest, and busied myself tidying for the mini party still to come. Seth wanted pancakes for dinner so the boys had pancakes for dinner. My parents and my sister and her family came over for presents and cake.

Seth was pleasantly surprised with this gift that we bought awhile ago and put away for him. He hadn't seen it in the stores lately and thought he'd missed his chance to get it. I love his surprised little face.

Cupcakes. I thought these were pretty awesome! But I have to give most of the credit to Dave. He made the cupcakes. I made the whipped cream filling. He (using an apple corer) "cored" out holes in the middle and filled them with the filling. Then I made the chocolate icing and he decorated the cupcakes. I don't get it, but he's just much better with the icing shooter than I am.

And I made ice cream - chocolate with oreos and chocolate chips, per Seth's request. Unfortunately, we learned a tough lesson on Seth's birthday. While it's fun to let them do what they want and eat what they want on their birthday, perhaps it's a bit much for a newly 5 year old. Seth had had about 2 bites of the cupcake and ice cream (that I felt like we spent days making for him), when he announced he was done. I thought he said he wanted dad. Someone else thought he said he wanted his bed. At any rate, I found him lying in a chair and we ushered him to the bathroom where he promptly threw up. All over Dave. Which promptly brought the party to an end. Poor baby. Hey, it'll be a great story when he's older, right?

Anyway, I can't believe my first baby is 5 years old. We love you big kid!