Tristan turns 5

Today Tristan turned five. He woke up so excited for his day.  Neil took the morning off from work to take Tristan out for a pancake breakfast and then to play a round of golf...well, glow in the dark mini golf.  They had so much fun that T, who hasn't taken a nap in months, fell asleep for an hour in the car on the way home.  He came home long enough to play with his new toys for a bit and then it was off to his party.

Tristan wanted to invite a lot of kids from school to his party and since I planned it for a Wednesday afternoon, I didn't think many people would be able to make it.  Turns out Wednesday afternoons are open for just about everyone because everyone came (except for his best buddy that got sick today).  I never expected to have 15 kids, but they were the best 15 kids and Tristan loved having every one of them there.

Best idea ever: Babysitters for Finn and Ian.  We ALL had more fun because of it :)

I was so excited for this birthday!  Before now, the birthday parties seemed more about pictures for years down the road and maybe a way for us parents to celebrate the survival of another year of parenting.  My fifth birthday party is the first one I remember.  I remember it as one of the most fun birthdays and as the story goes, my mom says it goes down as the craziest party and she swore off Chucky Cheese until she had grandchildren.  Tristan's party was pretty much as crazy but totally fun!!

He looked just like a dude hanging out with his friends

The only hiccup happened two hours before the party.  After a few more kids sent RSVPs than I had originally told McDonalds there would be, I decided to call and let them know.  Apparently, they had no record of a party today.  No problem though, they pulled in a great employee to host the party and she did a great job.  She took care of everything and even did face painting for the kids.  Okay, the Angry Birds all my kids wanted looked a little funny, but they were so thrilled with it.

 I looked around and saw exactly what I had wanted for Tristan.  I saw kids running, climbing, playing together, eating happy meals and ice cream, and just enjoying being together...they were really being kids like I remember being a kid.  Nothing too scheduled or planed.  No games set up for them.  They came up with their own games, made their own adventures, and laughed a lot.  The smiles I saw on Tristan's face were enough to almost make me cry.  I think he will remember this birthday, too.

I was so happy that Neil made Tristan's birthday such a big deal.  Spending most of the day just the two of them and then taking the last flight out tonight for his business trip so he didn't miss a minute of T's party.  The kids and I got home and TRIED to get the face paint off but not with much luck.  The twins should look cute tomorrow.  I put the twins to bed and then Tristan and I sat quietly in his room building a Lego toy one of his friends got for him.  It was a really sweet time to spend together and he snuggled right into bed after with his new Yoda doll. 

I never would have dared to dream I would have a kid like Tristan.  His big heart and huge personality are unbelievable.  After today, I think I can add being a good friend to his list of great qualities.  He was really nice to all his little party guests.  I love every day that I get to hang out with him.  Happy year number five with the coolest little kid :)

T-ball

This year, Tristan received an early birthday present from Nana and Bits...a spot on a real t-ball team.  He is so excited to be a part of a team!  I don't know if he loves the sport of it, but he does love the shark on his bat, wearing a real "jersey" (black his favorite color), the name on his hat, wearing the same number that dad did, and most of all making lots of new friends.

It's adorable to watch him figure out what all of this means.  He is the biggest encouragement to his teammates and chatter box to his coaches.  He tries so hard to stay focused, but the dirt is just too tempting to dig in and his friend on the next base it too interesting not to talk to.

I am a big believer that once my kid is on a team, I am NOT the coach!!!  I do get a sad little chuckle out of watching the parents hang around 1st and 3rd and try to coach their kid... during PRACTICE!  It's all so ridiculous to me that I don't quite know where to put it.  I am just thankful we chose to go to the "less competitive" t-ball league.  When I first heard this, I couldn't fathom who would be pushing their kids at age 4/5 level...then I saw them.  There's no time for parent chit chat because there is a future Rockie on the field ;)

I can confidently say that I hope major league baseball is not in my children's future, but I do hope Tristan enjoys every second of his season and if he chooses to play again next year I hope he enjoys that, too.  As for me, I think it is adorable to watch the boys play and exhausting to watch those coaches literally pick kids up and put them back in their positions time after time.  I'm thankful they are willing to do it and I promise not to get in their way...I don't want their job!!!