Sunday, July 13, 2008
Turning 5!!
Benjamin has been very excited this past week as we counted down the days to his birthday and to his birthday party. Every morning when I’d wake him up, I’d ask him how many days until each special day and he’d reply by sleepily holding up the appropriate number of fingers. On Saturday morning, he came into my room, woke me up and announced that it was his birthday (party). Ooops. I had to explain that the countdown goes down to “0” instead of stopping at “1.” He was a little disappointed, but he was soon OK with having to wait one more day.
He helped me bake his cakes Saturday morning. His idea of baking was to dump all the ingredients into the mixer, then wipe all the extra batter off the mixer blades when we were done. When it came time to make the frosting, he did the same thing again. Isn’t that the main purpose in wanting to help make the batter and frosting?
I suspected that we’d have enough cake mix to make two cakes, but soon discovered that we’d end up with three. It just meant that I’d have to make “Green Percy” in addition to making Thomas and James. Fortunately, Benjamin didn’t balk that the trains didn’t have faces, although he did insist that I add Percy’s windows. I think they turned out pretty well for an ad-hoc version of his favorite character trains.
When I finished using the frosting, I turned the kids loose with the leftover tubes and empty plates. MacKenzie wasn’t quite sure what I meant when I told her she could decorate a plate, but caught on quickly. She and Zachary accentuated the designs in their plates, while Benjamin more or less squirted globs of frosting on his plate, squished them all together a-la finger painting style, then licked his fingers. I remember making wonderful plate creations alongside Granny Walker and Aunt Mildred when they made their wedding cakes, and I figured that wasn’t a bad experience to pass on to my kiddos.
Benjamin’s party was small -- Gabriel and Luci were his only friends who could make it (the hazard of a summer birthday), but he didn’t mind. He enjoyed all the attention, and was ready to get the party started. The wind actually blew out four of his candles when we initially sang to him, then Gabriel helped blow them out when we re-lit them, but it didn’t bother Benjamin for more than a few seconds.
Soon everyone was feasting on cake and ice cream. As soon as Benjamin was done, he announced that he was ready to open presents. He started opening presents from the seat where he ate his cake and ice cream, but in the excitement moved closer to where the presents were stacked. Naturally, the spectators moved in closer too. Luci and Gabriel ended up on top of the table, and Zachary and Logan were inches away from helping at times.
He really enjoyed his party, especially since he told me a few days ago that he’d never had a birthday party (his first four parties were family-only events). Fortunately, the weather cooperated. It rained in the morning enough to make everything damp (nothing a few towels couldn’t remedy), and the afternoon rain waited until his party was over.As I tucked him in bed tonight, I made a big deal of the fact that it’s the last time I’ll tuck my 4-year-old Benjamin in bed since he’ll be my 5-year-old Benjamin when he wakes up in the morning. He matter-of-factly told me that he’s already 5 since he’s been doing 5-year-old things for a while now. I guess that’s what we get for pointing out all the good things that 5-year-olds can do (finish their supper, clear their plate from the table, put on their own shoes, get on their own pajamas/clothes, etc). He then excitedly added that since he’s now 5, we’ll be moving to Ramstein and he’ll be starting Kindergarten soon. He definitely remembered that timeline. I’d say he’s ready for that next big event now that he’s (almost) 5!
