five

five years ago i held my little clate in my arms for the first time and cried uncontrollably. for a week or more i would cry every time i looked at him...and then i would laugh at myself because i thought i was crazy. my heart was so full of joy (or maybe my hormones were a little out of wack) that i literally could not contain it! this little boy continues to bring me so much joy...and now he's 5!

i threw together a little birthday party for him this week. he only invited 3 friends; andrew, anna, and sarah. they played games, ate cupcakes, and opened presents. it was a good time.

clate and andrew working together in a 3-legged race; boys vs. girls

potato sack (reusable grocery bag) racing

racing while balancing eggs on spoons held in their mouths


they frosted their own cupcakes (clate's should have been red, not pink) and sang happy birthday to clate along with the Countdown Kids.


for his birthday, clate got a spiderman transformer, Woody and Buz Lightyear, a book, and two stuffed animals, a hamster and a mouse (he loves stuffed animals). from his friends he got a batman action figure toy, a set of 9 mini-Cars (from the movie), and a paint set. he is still waiting for grammie and pa to get here this weekend with their gifts. clate asked for mac n cheese for dinner tonight, so that's what he got. then we went to red robbin for a chocolate milkshake. he was one happy camper.


clate at five:

• plays soccer
• loves to watch and play football with dad
• says "what the..." all the time
• refuses to wear long sleeve shirts except to church
• thinks he runs lightening fast
• has a major sweet tooth
• loves to help me around the house especially if earning money is an option
• asks me every night what the next day is and what our plans are and doesn't forget in the mornig
• loves to swing high (big change from last year)
• loves to drive his sisters mad by bugging them (he's such a big brother)
• could use a nap most days but only actually takes one about twice a week
• won't go to sleep unless i sing "i love to see the temple" and "i am a child of god" every night followed by a back scratch for 14 seconds
• still a mama's boy.

last night i had a fun conversation with clate before he went to bed. i told him that i was sad because he would never be 4 again. he told me that i could pretend he was 4 anytime i wanted. i told him he could open up one present first thing in the morning. he told me to tell him which one to open, and that it should NOT be a book. i said, "maybe it will be a really cool book." he said, "maybe it will be a really cool TOY!" i asked him what he was going to do when he was five. he said he was going to be nice to his sisters....i'm going to hold him to that one. i was thanking him for being such a great four-year-old and for having such a fun year. he reached up and gave me a hug and said, "you're the best mom ever!"