Five

I wrote the kids' birthday posts earlier in the summer because I knew they'd change so much by the time I got caught up, and I am so glad that I did because they have changed so much since their birthdays (especially Brenn)! So here is what Carder was up to as of his 5th birthday...

Carder turned 5 on May 24th. He had a physical about a month or so before his birthday and was ___ tall (__%) weighed ____ (___%) <info packed away, fill in when I find it!>

 At 5 he...

* Still loves building cities/lining up toys in his room. Sharing a room with Brenn this year caused a bit of a hinderance to his particularness in "setting up" his stuff, but he took well advantage of her nap times by having what he called "Big Boy Time" in his room where a little person couldn't demolish all his hard work.

* Is still our little Energizer Bunny (seriously why can't some of that energy transfer to his parents!). Is a totally different child if he has slept well. Although he would probably do well to still nap daily, he doesn't. He will only fall asleep if we are driving in the car. (We travel with a pillow in the car for this reason.)

* Is becoming quite the techy. He likes to commandeer Mom's phone and take pictures of his toys or things around the house and sometimes I will even find some "selfies." He has also been making movies, (I have found some gems on my photo reel of him making movies of his toys where he does voices, etc. for the different characters). It's always a surprise to see what the little guy has left for us on our phones. He also very much enjoys to play the games on starfall.com, PBS.org, disneyjr or nickjr as well as on his leapster/leappad.

Some of Carders Selfies that we've found on our phones

* Loves to draw and do stickers. I especially love the drawings where he sounds stuff out and labels things or writes stuff on them. It melts my heart!

* Is still a lover of music and dancing. He just can't help himself by having to dance when he hears a beat. He also has become a pretty good beat boxer creating his own beats. We also love when he comes home and teaches us the songs he has learned at preschool (Slippery Fish is a big hit with Brenn).

* Loves to jump on Mom and Dad's bed and the couch. I know, probably not the best habit, but when you are inhabiting an itty bitty living space and snowed in for a good part of the time you do what you gotta do...We need a backyard and a trampoline BAD! His dancing has also spilled over into this activity where he will play music and do his jumping to it (while simultaneously looking at himself in the mirror). One of his favorites was a song he would play over and over and over from Imagination Movers and lip sing along with it. (Odd child).

* Likes to help Mom and Dad around the house. His favorite things to do are clean the bathroom with Dad (What is so cool about spraying cleaner? But hey I'll take it.), vacuuming with the attachment for Mom (he feels especially good about himself when he gets the hard to reach places like under the couch etc, that aren't so easy for Mom), and cooking with Mom. Carder is quite the character in the kitchen, he likes to smell the different ingredients and when he tastes things he'll often say "Do I detect a hint of [insert ingredient here]," often times he is correct, but it just makes us chuckle.

* Wants to be a pastry chef (or "dessert chef" as he often calls it) when he grows up. His doctor asked him what he wanted to be at his check up and he told her a doctor and then quickly changed his mind to a chef "the kind that makes desserts." She told him that he could do both if he wanted to, because she was a doctor and she really liked to cook too. He processed that for a minute but still stuck to wanting to be a chef.

* Is reading like a pro. He is doing so great--even reading verses of scripture by himself. If he wants to, he can basically read whatever, but he gets lazy sometimes. He is great at reading books to Brenn or early reader chapter books (so long as they have pictures) all by himself. The Chapter books that are primarily words seem somewhat daunting to him still, though he will read a paragraph (sometimes a chapter) if we are sitting there reading along with him, but they aren't really something he goes off and reads by himself yet. We are trying to foster his reading abilities by constantly working on a Chapter book together. So far he has completed ___ chapter books. (James & The Giant Peach, Mr Poppers Penguins, Stuart Little, Charlotte's Webb,  Magic Tree House #1 Dinosaurs Before Dark, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) <fill in the ones I've forgotten because I know there are some missing> He is a big Rohl Dahl fan (those books seemed to be the ones that he has gotten most excited about, though this summer he has started reading the Captain Underpants series which he is THOROUGHLY enjoying and Jake is attempting the Great Brain books with him that he loved as a child). After he completes a chapter book he gets to watch the movie or have some kind of themed activity/treat, hopefully that will breed a life long reader! (I am hoping for anything other then the attitude I had in my youth of "Any book worth reading comes out on movie anyway so I might as well wait for that," ya, I really regret that mindset now!). Luckily, Jake loved to read as a child--hopefully Carder inherits that attitude.

* Has the best one-liners/random responses or thoughts. Carder loves to learn new words, and many times sneaks that new found vocabulary in at the most hilarious times. He makes us laugh at something he has said at least once a day. For example, he likes to use the word "curious" at the most interesting times, i.e., "I saw a couple of kids; they were a bit curious." Or when his little cousin Ellie told him about how she had come down with diarrhea, Carder responded with, "Oh my gosh Ellie, that is embarrassing," to which Ellie replied, "I know. It IS embarrassing." Those two crack us up with their conversations. He also enjoys phrases like, "Oh drats!" when he gets really angry. We're still wondering where that came from. 

* Is the BEST big brother. He is so good to Brenn. If we scold her for making trouble he often times reprimands us. He loves to entertain her and make her laugh and teach her new things.

We just love our little 5-year-old (though I am thinking we need to freeze time because he is growing up too too fast!)