Sorry, Kid

So Wyatt turned five…last week…and I haven't recorded a darn thing about it or him. In my defense, we've been remarkably busy having a very good time, so I hope I'm forgiven. You might remember that Wyatt arrived on our sixth wedding anniversary and only four days after my own birthday, so every year is a juggling act of what will be celebrated when and how many sitters are appropriate in one week. This year was no different and, in the end, we spent our anniversary sharing in Wyatt's idea of a perfect day.

I volunteered to watch a friend's kid for the morning, which I knew Wyatt would enjoy, so the day before his birthday, I quizzed my boy about what else his perfect day would include. His reply: pancakes with chocolate chips and M&M's for breakfast, McDonald's for a picnic lunch at a park, naps, chocolate with cheese casserole for dinner. He was a little sad to find out I don't have a recipe for that casserole he dreamt up, so instead told me he'd like basil-jack meatloaf and strawberry milk for dinner. I was thrilled with that choice since it's also one of Jeff's favorite meals and then I = amazing for killing two birds celebrating two events with one meal. Sadly, on the day of his birthday he changed his dinner request to hotdogs in crescent rolls. Happy 11th anniversary, honey; have a pig in a blanket. But I digress. Wyatt got to open his presents from us and his cards from both sets of grandparents that night. He was thrilled to find airplanes inside all the wrapping paper.

Wyatt also requested chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting for his birthday dinner dessert, but vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday party. Note to self: this is the fourth birthday that has involved cake and the fourth time he really just wanted the frosting. Next year, I think I'll save myself the work and scoop out a big dollop of frosting and stick a candle in it.

note he chose one with a giant mound of frosting...

…then proceeded to lick it almost clean

This is also the first year we've had an actual party for Wyatt; he invited his cousins, our best friends' kids, and three kids from his class. Two of the school kids couldn't come, so it was a small crowd.

We had a great time at the local movie theater watching Cars 2 and hanging out in the party room. It was Wyatt's first movie in a theater and I'm pretty sure he loved it. The movie itself was a little more adult than the first Cars and had me rolling at the Tokyo bathroom scene (I will buy the movie just to watch that scene) but had Thomas a little spooked with all the gratuitous violence. Grandma was happy to have him climb into her lap and snuggle tight for the duration. Wyatt ended up holding her hand, too, after a scene made him yell out loud (really loudly, and when no one else in the theater reacted). After much debate, we decided Natalie could stay for the movie, too, and she loved it. Actually, she just loved the popcorn. Each party guest got a kiddie combo with popcorn, drink and an Airheads taffy. Sitting next to her Papa, Natalie mowed down her entire serving of popcorn pretty rapidly. My dad kept leaning forward and whispering, "Steph, should I take it away?" I told him she could handle it, which she did until she announced in a not-so-quiet voice, "Papa! My skirt too tight!" Ummmm, yeah, that's bloating sweetie. She recovered nicely and paid attention until the last thirty minutes of the movie, at which point she made four trips to the bathroom.

with Jack & Charlie

blowing out candles with Thomas' supervision

But this is about Wyatt. And the fact that he's five. And the fact that he had one of the greatest weekends of his young life because not only did he get to hang out with his chosen boys, but the whole family (Great Grandma included) came to the house for pizza and more dessert, then his cousins spent the night and stayed well into the next day, playing outside on his new trampoline (I wanted one my whole life…it's nice that my parents bought one for him!) and with water guns, baseballs and sprinklers.

Wyatt at five is seeming to be wired very much like me, his emotions are hanging out all over the place. If he's happy, you know and if he's angry, you know; he also really enjoys having the last word. It's something we're both working on! He loves wholeheartedly and is a great brother to Natalie, even though sometimes he forgets he should make requests with words instead of his hands. His interest in airplanes shows no signs of waning and he tells us that he intends to be a pilot when he grows up. I constantly suggest alternate career fields, but he just laughs at me. He loves to add and subtract, count by tens and "all the way to one hundred" for fun. He still doesn't enjoy coloring. Dinosaurs are starting to intrigue him, as are fossils, rocks and bugs. He is much like his daddy in that he wants you to be happy, wants to hug all the time and can often be heard offering compliments. His laugh still makes us laugh. He's ornery, challenging and constantly surprising in what he will and won't do. He keeps me on my toes but I think life would be really boring without him, so I'm gonna keep him as long as he'll let me.