Max is 5

Max finally turned 5. (Well....back in January he did.) Sam and I both agreed that it seemed like Max was 4 for a long time. I'm really not sure why. It might just be because he's talked about turning 5 and going to school for so long that it seems like it should have already happened by now. However, when the big day finally came and Max was officially 5 I found myself a little sad. Maybe it's because I knew that turning 5 is the beginning of the end of this phase of life for Max. It means he will be going to school soon. It also means he will soon be in the awkward clothing size where little boy clothes make him look like an angry Hulk and the big boy clothes like a clown. Not to mention the clothing choices go from shirts that say things like, "Dad's Little All Star" to a a handful of options where skulls and crossbones are the primary decorum. It also means we will have to stop saying things like, "well he is only four" to excuse less than perfect behavior. Yes, 5 means Max is really growing up.

As sad as I was to kiss Max's toddler days goodbye, I was also thrilled to recognize and celebrate what a smart, strong (physically strong and strong willed), sweet and loving boy he has grown into these past 5 years.

Turning 5 is a big deal so I was happy to be able to pull off our most successful attempt yet at having a real party for Max. Having a birthday right after Christmas (Jan. 6) is tough, but we worked it out this year. For my boys, most of the fun of the birthday party comes in the planning and "talking about it" phase. Max certainly did plenty of talking and planning, including frequent revisions to the themes and activities. At one time or another it was going to be a knight party, a bat party, a ninja party and an ice skating party, He finally decided and stuck with a snake party. I think it was a good choice and suited Max perfectly.

Even though it was a "snake" party we started the festivities at Pump it Up for for some good (but very crowded) jumping fun.

Sam, his very brave daughter and the birthday boy.

After we had bounced all we could bounce we headed to our house with the Bywaters for some very snakey games, including...

The green anaconda game: A race to make the longest snake out of a single piece of paper. It was the perfect game for a boy who loves to cut and makes many, many snakes.


Measuring the paper snakes. It was a close one, but I think Sophia won.


Pin the tongue on the cobra. No party would be complete for Max without a pin the something on the something. I was planning to make a very simple snake drawing for the game--something along the lines of a long wavy tube, but apparently Sam had other plans.

Sam's awesome cobra. Waaaaay better than my wavy tube. Those eyes actually scare me.


Everyone got a shot.




My favorite game of the party was the King Snake game. King snakes are snakes that eat other snakes, so the kids all did their best to eat snakes (fruit by the foot) without any hands as fast as they could.





It was a great--albeit sticky--game.



I think Reed was the winner, but I'm not sure. It was close.


Finally, we went on a snake hunt in the dark basement with flashlights to find plastic snakes that were hidden all over.


My mom was in town for the party and a huge help getting everything together at the last minute. Last minute help is one of her specialties.




After the hunt was over, the spoils were divided among the hunters. Of course the birthday boy got to pick first. His face doesn't show it, but he was pleased.


And what would a party be without cake? Snakes are always crawling out of large mounds of mud, right?




Happy Birthday Max! I hope all of your 5-year-old wishes come true. We love you!

All I've got

For the past little while, Ruby has been obsessed with babies. It started with baby dolls, but then quickly expanded to all things small. If there is ever anything smaller then the rest of the items, she desperately wants it. A smaller than average grape is now a baby grape and must belong to her. A broken crayon nub is now a baby crayon and little battleship pegs are a bunch of red and white babies. Recently she has taken it up a notch and frequently wants to be a baby. She wants me to wrap her up in a blanket like a baby, rock her like a baby, and even found an old baby bottle that she likes to tote around. I mostly appease her because she is my baby and getting to snuggle her is no chore, however I did have to draw the line when she said she wanted to get back in my belly.

Her newest request is that I tell her something about when she was a baby. I don't mind this either--that is, I didn't mind until I realized how little I could remember about her babyhood without stopping to think about things I had posted. It was actually shocking as I tried to reach for something to add and I couldn't. I expect this a little more when Reed asks me to pull something from almost 8 years ago, but from 2 years ago?? I was terribly disappointed in my memory and even more grateful for the memories I have recorded. I felt a commitment once again to record something about our life as often as I can, since apparently it's disappearing faster than I planned. So here I go, trying again to be a little more consistent about recording something--anything about our life. I'm not going to worry about how long ago it happened or how seemingly insignificant. If I can remember it now, it's recordable.

These pictures are from so long ago, they might even work the next time Ruby requests a "baby story". Here's one more for my "baby" Ruby.

Last Summer I was starting to worry about Ruby because her speech did not seem to be progressing like I expected, so one day, after playing Scrabble Slam with Reed, we decided to use the letter cards to practice different sounds with Ruby. She wasn't into it at all, refusing to repeat any of the sounds I offered her. I was ready to call it a day until Reed asked if he could try. He did and she repeated every sound. Little stinker. I should have known then that this girl would enjoy giving me a hard time.

Reed of course thought it was pretty funny.


Actually, after a while I think he started to feel a little bit bad that she was so eager to preform for him and not me.

My memory may be prematurely failing me, but that's not going to stop me from trying to do my best to hang on to what I have. Here is one more memory that's all mine.

The best of both

Start your day as a dragon... (Yep--she went grocery shopping like this.)

and finish up as a princess, or as a"tall-tall princess" as Ruby called herself when she stood up on the table as asked me to take her picture. "Mom, I a tall, tall princess."


I know it just comes with the territory when you're an only girl and your biggest role models are two older brothers, but I'm pretty confident that this girl can hold her own in both the dragon and princess crowds. The boys love her rough and tumble side and, much to my chagrin, Max has even called her a tomboy at times. (However, I shouldn't care too much since Max also thinks that boys with long hair are tomboys, too. I kept our cart rolling quickly at Walmart when we passed a large biker man with a pony tail and Max excitedly shouted to me, "Hey look Mom. It's a tomboy!")

She can hike and skip rocks withe the best of them.






And then delight in performing ballet moves while insisting that everyone preform with her.


She squeals with delight at new clothes and has been known to fall in devastation when she realizes that shoes on the pages of the book will, in fact, not fit her feet and, even worse, will not be leaving the pages of the book anytime soon. Below Ruby looks to be dying a slow death caused by a shortage of shoes.


She doesn't mind making a mess of herself. (Spaghetti, not face paint)


But also demands a bath every night--usually about 5 minutes into dinner.


She certainly doesn't limit herself to the "cheerleader" roll. When the boys play football or basketball, she's all about getting in on the action.





Sometimes she is very particular about her hair--ponytail only or just "hair up, mom".


and sometimes she fights me and my brush wanting to run wild with hair styled only with what appears to be syrup.


She loves to accessorize...


but hates it when people get in her shot and is not afraid to take matters into her own hands when they do.


Sometimes the accessories come before breakfast....or even before complete consciousness. I remember Ruby woke up very groggy the morning I took this picture. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be awake or not, but she did know either way she wanted a hat.


Watching Ruby and her flip flopping ways does keep things exciting. I never know which version to expect--the dragon or the princess, and usually it's a little of both.