This year William turned 5! We started the day with our traditional breakfast of Crepples complete with whipped cream and a candle....and this year we had costumes as well.
We had Joy School at our house, but instead of the normal "Joy School", we had a birthday party. We invited just a few more of William's friends and we had a great time making crafts, playing games, and decorating cupcakes. We had SO much fun that I totally forgot to take any pictures. Whoops!
For dinner, we did something special:
After Todd got home from work, we opened presents. I don't know why William was crying,
And he got the traditional case of blueberries
When he was little he LOVED blueberries (still does). For his 2nd birthday I had wrapped up a carton of blueberries and he responded with more excitement for those blueberries than any other gift. So now he gets some every year.
For his cake William wanted a "CTR cake". My boys must think I'm a confectionery genius, but really I am not. The day before his birthday I baked a cake in a heart shaped pan. I then cut around it to shape it into a shield. I had made the mistake of letting the boys eat the extra cake. This wouldn't have been a problem but it gave Grant a craving for the cake and when Todd was supposed to be watching them, Grant attacked the cake. He got the sides and big holes in the middle. I didn't have time (nor did I want to) to bake another cake, so I used frosting to hide the imperfections and tried to shape it the best I could. Though it would have looked better if it hadn't been attacked, I thought I did a pretty good job (for me) :
Now I am going to share some things about William. Looking back at my blog (through the blog books I have made) this is something I am very grateful for for it shows the kids personality and how they are.
William is such a sweet loving boy. I love how little he is and how easily he can curl up into my arms. Whenever he sleeps with me I will hear him say, "I love you" very quietly, while his eyes are still closed.
William is VERY smart. Even as a baby I noticed how well he would learn something. He has just finished our learning to read program and it is amazing how well he has been doing with reading. When I ask him questions about adding or subtracting (we're still using very small numbers) you can see him figuring it out, he "sees" the number of objects in his mind.
In conjunction with his intellect, William has an incredible memory. If you ever tell him something, you better be prepared for it to be set into stone for he will remember it.
William has such a cute sense of humor and loves to be a little teaser. He loves to tease me, but I think he likes to tease Grant a little more. I can't say that I blame him for Grant gets really upset, quite funny.
William loves to hear stories about himself. When he was a baby he was such an easy baby (and still is quite an easy going child) and he gave me a lot of comfort. William loves to talk about how when he was a baby he would smile at me as if to say "all will be okay Mom".
William really is WillDog. Will-dog is a nickname LeNae gave him, and he owns it. He even wrote it on his name tag for a class he took at the Natural History Museum.
William loves to run, and he definitely got the running genes and build. He loves to go and go, and has great form. I'm excited to see how well he'll do with his running.
William is very cautious around roads.....rightfully so.
William is a tough, tough kid. When he went in for his shots, he told me that he was not going to cry. When we found out that he had to get four of them, I thought there was no way that he would be able to do it. Though he did wince in pain, he kept his resolve and did not cry. He was truly a champ. Another time he slipped at the pool, hard. Even though his swimming teacher said that it looked like it hurt, and it did hurt him, William kept the tears in and dealt with the pain.
If you were to ask if I have an accident-prone child, I would say it would be William. He will run into walls, chairs, doors, and other things around the house. You think he would know the layout of our home by now, but apparently that is more difficult than we know. LeNae pointed out the irony that if anyone could weasel around objects, it would be William for he is small and quick, but instead he is always hitting into things.
William is a spiritual boy. He lets us know if something is right or wrong and will tell me if someone (no matter who) is doing something wrong.
Whenever we go to the park, William will quickly make many friends. He is incredibly social with other kids his age, and boy does he have fun with them. But he gets really shy around adults, at least until he warms up to them. He does love his primary teachers, and was very sad to say good-bye to his Sunbeam teacher, Sister Smith. But he still will run up to her and give her a hug.
William is my boy. He always has been, and he always will. He's my little buddy, my little independent buddy. My mom says that I was a lot like William when I was younger. I can definitely see that: easy-going, independent, likable, wonderful :).
I sure do love you Will-dog. Happy Birthday.
