Happy (Lego) Birthday, Nathan

Happy birthday, sweet Nathan!  FIVE YEARS OLD! 

(That deal we made about staying five forever? He's telling everyone about it. He's on board. So get used to us saying FIVE YEARS OLD! ok?)

We had a very sweet day with Nathan to celebrate. A coffee date, one-on-one reading time, a lunch outing, and a little lego party!

Yep, he has been counting down the days til he can play with the "big kid" legos (the ones that say 5+ on the box), which we have been resisting because of that one little baby we have around who puts everything in her mouth. But we held him off for long enough, and finally agreed to the "real" legos as long as they're put away in their own box which needs to stay in his room. (We'll see how that goes.)

So for his birthday he wanted to play legos and swim with his friends. Um, done. Hi there easy. We told him he could invite five friends over. And they were all actually available! Yay! So then I pinned All the Lego Things and we celebrated!

We made lego favor bags...

... and lego ice...

... and a lego cake...

... and then all the kiddies played with legos in hundred degree heat! Ahhh, july birthdays.

And ahhhh, swimming in the heat of July birthdays.

Related: five year olds in other families are brave! These kids were jumping in the deep end and swimming around like future olympians. Nathan and Anneliese mostly marked their territory over by the steps in the shallow end. (Just kidding, they didn't mark their territory. No peeing in the pool! I digress.)

And then there was also the part of the party where I was standing in the kitchen with melting colored lego ice dripping from my hands, pool water dripping on the floor, towel hanging half off me, when the governor** walked into my kitchen. So, yeah. That happened. Sometimes I wish I were classier. {{sigh}}

When the party aftermath had died down, Nathan finally got to do what he has been craving for months. Read instructions (this child is all! about! the instructions!) and build legos like it looks on the box mommy! He's basically living the dream here.

And then, with daddy on night shift, he got to sleep in mommy's bed (I was not complaining for extra birthday boy snuggles). He looks exactly like he did the day he was born. You know it's true.

Happy birthday, baby boy. FIVE YEARS OLD! We love you, Nathan booler.

*Truth: Another Nathan mostly did the bags. He's more... exacting than I am. (I mostly subscribe to the theology of good enough. It usually serves me well, but notsomuch in crafting.)

** Yes, we knew she was coming, to pick up her granddaughter who is one of Nathan's friends from school. Remember this?