Henry is Five!

Some parents freak out when their youngest child hits certain mile stones. They mourn the end of nursing. They miss babies who crawled but now walk. They sigh as beds shift from bassinet to crib to bed. I haven't been that parent.

Until now.

Henry is five. Officially. He made the transition from four to five yesterday, just after nine pm. My heart burst a little at seeing his bigness. We spent the day skiing as a family and...he skied. Early, at his party, he chose which friends to invite.  For the first time, some were his friends, not just children of my friends.  Henry, at five, is already starting to separate from me.  Cue Lucy hitting the "Slow Time Down" panic button.

Five years with Henry seems to have happened both in the blink of an eye and eons ago.  After Henry blew out his birthday candles last night, Jay asked each of us to share our earliest memory of Henry.  Seth stated matter-of-factly that he doesn't really remember time before Henry.  Sam quickly chimed in that he did, but he also claims to remember being born, as in "coming out of my tummy," so his testimony might not stand up in a court of law.  No matter what the memory was, each seemed to end in us laughing about Henry's stubbornness, Henry's cuteness or what I can only describe as Henry's charisma.  He oozes charm.  He has from the minute he was born.

Which Jay remembers.  Delivering Henry was his memory. He was the first person to lay eyes on Henry.  I felt a little bewildered when I couldn't pinpoint when exactly I first laid eyes on him.  I remember them whisking Henry away due to some respiratory distress and that I didn't see him until they cleaned him up and performed a few tests.  But, when exactly was that?  I can't remember.  Five years seems to be too long ago to remember everything.

What I do remember is this:  I have loved Henry since the moment I thought about him.  I have loved these five years with him as part of our family.  He makes everything a little more....unpredictable.  And fun.  There is nothing quite like being on the receiving end of one of his killer smiles.

What I wish for now is for the each year to slow down a bit.  Five is grand but let's not rush to six.  And, as Henry and I discussed last night as I tucked him into bed, sometimes....sometimes....he can be just four again.

Before the party began.  Henry helped me set up his "party table."

rainbow sherbet is a hit with this age group!

A little dancing with the balloon games

His pals at his party

I don't think they could make a tighter circle if they tried.

After gifts, we headed outside to play with Seth's Stomp It.  Great fun.

The boys could have done this for hours.  I eventually had to call them back in.  They love to see that rocket go (see it in the top right hand corner?)

After a day of skiing on Saturday, we had a small family party.   We had a big late lunch at our favorite pizza place (ne'er fret, I had the salad bar.  Two trips!) so dinner was a lite affair with crackers, cheese and summer sausage.

A game that Henry likes.

Microphones are so fun.

His dad made his night by giving him a buzz lightyear dart gun.  Seth tempts his own fate.

Then cake with five candles!

Which I wouldn't recommend because they kept burning themselves out on their own wax.  FYI - skip the star candles next time!