5 Years Old!

Today was Elias’ 5th birthday. Nathan and I have been parents for five years. The day was actually a bit busy, but we made it as special as we could for our little man. I had to wake him up in time for school. I laid down next to him and sang happy birthday. He didn’t open his eyes, but he got a big smile on his face. Then I asked him if he wanted to go down stairs and see Daddy for a few minutes before work, and he popped out of bed like a jack-in-the-box.

Here he is getting some breakfast.

Before he ate, though, we allowed him to open one present before Daddy left for work. We got him a calculator. It was one of the few things he actually asked for by name. Back in August, he loved his cousin Audrey’s calculator. When he opened it, he smiled really big and said, “Hey! My own calculator!” Then he proceeded to try it out for a bit before going back to his breakfast.

Mrs. Bernick made it a special day for Elias at school. She has a big cupcake decoration she puts in front of the kids when it is their birthday. She also gave him a birthday pencil and a birthday sticker. Elias got to be snack boy, and he chose to bring fruit leather, Tillamoo and grapes. His class sang “Happy Birthday” to him, and Senora Hull, his Spanish teacher, sang to him in Spanish.

After school we went straight over to Ama and Baba’s for a birthday lunch. They boys enjoyed playing there. Ama made Elias cupcakes and we sang to him again!

Baby James was also at Ama and Baba’s. He was napping for most of the time we were there, but the boys got to see him for a bit at the end of our visit. Elias, as always, wanted to get in some cousin love.

Then we went home for a rest. Simon took a nap, and Elias had some quiet time. Before we knew it, it was time for swimming lessons. Elias was very excited because he got to try backstroke for the first time ever. He’s done a lot of “wings and kicks” on his back, but never official “backstroke.”

We came home and met up with Daddy for a simple dinner, got to listen to a special voicemail from Uncle Greg, called and say hello to Uncle Greg, and then let Elias open the rest of his gifts. I’m always impressed with his generosity. He let Simon open two of his gifts.

Besides the calculator, we also got him a rock collection/game, a book, a small science experiment kit, a geography leap pad game, and some walkie talkies. After playing with the rock game as a family, we only had about ten minutes left before bath time. We chose to try out the walkie talkies. Elias loved them, but will need some practice knowing when to press and hold the button to talk, and when to let it go. It takes some coordination! I tried to take a picture of him. He really did love them more than it appears in this photo.

Elias was exhausted. He told me he had a good birthday, and then promptly rolled over and fell asleep. This picture was taken on Monday, but I love it so I thought I’d include it. Here is my five year old:

Happy Birthday, Elias!