Oh That Boy!

5yoBen had a bit of a dis-jointed birthday party, thanks, almost entirely to the family tummy bug!! Yikes.

5popciclesOn the actual day, we had a nice little celebration with his buddies (see 5 popcicles like candles). He got a few presents from us,

whatawookieincluding this wookie hoodie and his Star Wars Lego shirt. Are you seeing a pattern here??

crownAnd he got to be special boy at school. It was a pretty good day.

But he had to wait almost a week for his official b’day party at Chuck E Cheese. He handled the disappointment pretty well.

castleAnd to make up a bit for it, he got to spend some of his birthday money on a giant Lego castle, which he and Daddy built until Daddy got sick.

cakeA week later, he finally got to celebrate with the family at Chuck E Cheese, including the cake that had been sitting in our fridge for a week. It was the Star Wars cake he’d hoped for (I bought a cake at Target and suck some figurines on top) and it was pretty awesome. He got to play like crazy and had so much fun with his Papa and Aunt Gaga.

He got wonderful gifts, including a remote control truck from some family friends,more Lego from Gaga and Papa and a great space book from his Grandma Dorothy. He’s kind of crazy for space and Lego right now.

luvhimBut of course, none of this birthday stuff is really about our Benji. This kid is one of a kind, I’m 100% sure of that.

He has had a banner year and we’re so so proud of him. He’s matured a ton. We rarely see him going over the edge with his temper and behavior these days. It’s mostly smooth sailing. He’s kind and loving towards his whole family and is really into SNUGGLES. Loves them, even if he can only sit still for a couple of minutes.

He is a very social kiddo and is eager to be with his friends. He wants nothing more than to be with people except maybe to harass his big sister. 😉

He has made huge strides academically and I can say he’s well ready for kindergarten. He is reading and sound out and doing quite a bit of math, adding and subtracting pretty well. He asks questions ALL. THE. TIME. Crazy ones we can hardly even begin to answer. And every question has a follow up question. He is able to quench his thirst for knowledge a bit through books, but they almost inevitably lead to more questions.

He made huge strides this year with skiing and he LOVES it. LOVES it. Karate remains fun for him though he’s had days where he doesn’t want to go (I mostly think this is because he doesn’t get to be at home as much as he’d like). He is getting really really good at riding his bike and can navigate the path with not too much trouble. He adores Legos and wants little more than to BUILD.

I miss the little guy he was, but I am so proud of the little man he’s become. So lucky to have him in our family!