Happy Birthday Cole!

Wow. It's been a while since I have updated this and there is SO much to update. I'll have to backtrack (hopefully) but the biggest excitement this week is Cole's 5th birthday! Cole was so so excited to turn 5. He has been counting down the days from April 1st and talking nonstop about what a big boy he is. So here's what happened: We ALWAYS take a picture of the kids the night before their birthday and say, "Go to bed four, wake up five!" They think it's funny. Following my own mother's tradition of decorating the house while we sleep, Jim and I stayed up late Thursday night to decorate the house in all things Transformers. We have done this every year and it makes the birthday mornings so special. We have several friends who have also adopted this tradition so it's funny to think of all the children around the world who are now waking up to a decorated house. We also have a long tradition of birthday doughnuts so Jim got up before 6 and went to get breakfast for the birthday boy. I heard Cole and Alli up talking while I was feeding Avery. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying but I did hear Alli singing "Happy Birthday" to her big brother. So cute. Then Cole came running into my room screaming, "Mommy! I'm 5! I'm so happy!! My head is a little bit bigger and my feet are a little bit bigger and my ears are a little bit bigger..." Then he went downstairs and saw the birthday explosion. He got a scooter and a bike which was not wrapped and then he started unwrapping. The first one he opened was from my mom and it was legos. Cole is obsessed with legos so that effectively ended present unwrapping time and began we must put legos together and play with that for an hour time. Cole ate his birthday doughnuts and opened some more presents eventually. We had a huge neighborhood egg hunt that morning and the kids all had a great time. We did a big pot-luck lunch and stayed outdoors for the morning. The kids also all sang "Happy Birthday" to him and I think he got a little bit embarassed. Then we loaded everyone up and went to the mall. My dad sent Cole some birthday money and Cole went straight to the lego store to spend it I think he must have his father's brain for math and putting things together. Jim and Cole can sit and build for hours. It's cool that they have a hobby that they can do together. We went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner because you get a volcanoe cake on your birthday and Cole has been asking to go there since the first time he saw a birthday there. It was an exciting and eventful day. I can't imagine it being any better for Cole. He had such a great time. Happy Birthday little man!