Birthday Mania

April 3rd was Noah's fifth birthday, and for such a monumental occasion we ended up celebrating the whole weekend. Friday night we had his favorite meal, pizza and chips. Followed by his favorite birthday gift, cash (sent by generous relatives). You cannot fully appreciate the value of a dollar until you have seen a child light up with a five dollar bill. You would have thought he won the lottery. It was very humbling to see how excited and appreciative he was over what we consider lunch money. Noah ended Friday night with a bowl of ice cream and a movie with Dad, who allowed him to stay up very, very late. Then came Saturday, the big celebration. First I must share that with the baby coming and having celebrated every one of our childrens' birthdays with a party, we decided this year, no one has a party and instead we will go to that person's favorite place. In February we took Bella to Monkey Joe's, in March I went to Asheville and in April we were headed for Chuck E Cheese's. Grandma wanted to be part of the fun, so she came over early on Saturday to join us at Chuck E Cheese's. I think after about two hours she was regretting that decision, but like the trooper she is, she chased kids and played games and took Bella to the potty a half dozen times. Once we had finished our lunch and exhausted our 100 tokens, we headed home with a plastic pirate hook and some glitter lip gloss (the prizes from the tickets won at each game). Back at home Noah opened his present from Grandma, which was a computer game with a special simulated keyboard. He loved it so much, he played for hours while Jeff and I did a little yard work. Finally, we ended the day by playing outside and eating ice cream cones on the picnic table. Now that Noah is 5 I feel like we have crossed some kind of finish line. One that says, you are no longer a preschooler dependent on your parents ideals, but a big boy with dreams and ideas and responsibilities of your own. While I am excited to move forward, I am a little sad to see my snuggly little boy grow up so soon. It makes me appreciate every hug and kiss and cuddle even more.

Noah getting his birthday mail dressed as Buzz Lightyear.

Winning tickets at Chuck E Cheese's.

A group photo of the kids. Paige and Jacob Scruggs also joined us at Chuck E Cheese's.

Noah ready to blow out the candles on his Pac Man brownies, made by request.

The girls and Grandma enjoying some ice cream cones.