Will is (finally) FIVE!

Will has been looking forward to turning five for at least 9 months now, and the big milestone was thoroughly celebrated over the past few weeks.

We were in Blountstown for his actual birthday and got to celebrate that and Mother's Day with Nana, Papa, Aunt Missy, Uncle Tim, and Grandmama and Granddaddy.

All the girls:

Will and Grandmama:

Grandmama, Will, and Anna (who looks like she ate too much lunch!):

Birthday cupcakes made by Missy:

(And that's a prized birthday gift from Nana and Papa in his hand--a plane made of lots of Legos, lots of itty bitty Legos.  John and I have become almost expert at reassembling that thing over the past few weeks!)

A day later, we went over to Shawn and Cindy's home for dinner.  Grandma provided a cake with Will's favorite superhero on top--Spiderman!

A slice with Spidey on top:

Anna with Grandma, Aunt Cindy, and Daddy:

Finally, Will celebrated with his buddies at a party at the Little Gym.  That was seriously the easiest party I've ever thrown--we were only allowed to show up 10 minutes before it started and they kept things going and shooed us out as soon as our time was up.  A little hectic, but the kids had a good time.

Will chose a pirate-themed party (over a dino theme--I was shocked!), so I purchased a print-at-home party set from Shindig Parties on Etsy.

Vanilla cupcakes:

Chocolate pirate cake with gold bricks (Rolos), cannon balls (Whoppers), some Playmobil pirates, and a coconut sea with Swedish fish:

I basically copied this pirate cake from the Family Fun magazine website.  I chose it because I knew I'd have to do most of the cake decorating while John was out of town, so I wanted something simple.  The recipe called for store-bought cake mix and frosting and candy decor--easy right?  Wrong!  The cake (made according to directions) would not hold together at all, so I finally threw the whole thing in the trash at about 8 pm Saturday night, went to Publix for more cake mix, and started over.  So, for future reference, I doctored the cake mix to make it a sturdier consistency, stacked the layers horizontally (not vertically), and carved the boat shape.  Much better.

Aren't these food labels cute?

The kids played in the gym for about an hour:

Anna kept up with the big kids just fine:

Then it was time for cake!

Will was so happy to have his friends there to play with him. :-)

Will, at five years old:

• Is about 44 pounds and 45 inches tall.  He hasn't had his checkup yet, but he dropped a dining room chair on his big toe Sunday so we had a doctor visit today and an Xray.  More on that later, but it did give me the chance to get his measurements!
• Loves dinosaurs, Legos, Spiderman, and snakes.
• Loves to play outside and collects bugs and centipedes in pieces of plasticware he sneaks out of the kitchen.
• Is very, very cautious.  I'm pretty sure I know where that trait came from!  He is still too nervous to drop his training wheels from his bike, so we're working on that.
• Has become a picky eater.  He'll try a bite of anything, but often won't eat more than that.  He loves "bessert" though.  His favorite foods are mac-n-cheese (Kraft brand, not my homemade kind!),  chicken, applesauce, chips with guacamole, and "pizza with brown spots" (delivered cheese pizza, not my homemade kind!).  He has always been a good eater in the past, so I don't like this new development.
• Likes to play with his sister sometimes, but is more often in a fight with her.  Lots of sibling rivalry already!  We're working on that (and toward stopping all the tattling).
• Still gets out of control with his emotions but overall has a lot more self-control than he did at this time last year.

So the previous items are things I have noted about Will at five, but I thought it might be fun to have him weigh in on his favorite things (since he is so big!).  So here are Will's favorites as reported by him:

Friend: Aleksander. And Bryce. 

Restaurant: The one with the spinning doors (BJ's Brewhouse)

Movie: Lilo and Stitch and Ice Age 3

Toy: Yarn snake and wooden snake

Sport to play: Swimming

Favorite shirt: Shark shirt (Guy Harvey shirt from Nana and Papa)

Pizza topping: Brown spots (cheese)

School lunch: "Square lunch" (Lunchables)

Book: Lilo and Stitch book, Art and Max

Color: Green

Song: "The Happiest Song I Know" (by Laurie Berkner)

Favorite thing to do as a family: Going to the pool

Breakfast: Waffles

Favorite thing to play with Anna: Playing in the tub

Bible story: Noah and the Ark
Bible verse: 2 Chronicles 7:14 (I don't know if this is his favorite or if he is 
just happy he learned the whole thing!)

PJs: Dinosaur jammies

After-school snack: Chips (he just discovered Cheetoes)

TV Show: Spiderman (Netflix episodes)

Candy: Skittles

Ice cream flavor: Vanilla

What do you want to be when you grow up: Astronaut

Store: Publix (he loves those bakery cookies)

Board game:  Dinosaur puzzle (kinda counts?)