Happy Birthday Brighton!

It's hard for me to believe that my teeny, tiny, Brighton has gone from this

See how tiny in my arms!

To this!  My Brighton Buddy is FIVE!

Dad has been traveling a lot in the weeks around Brighton's birthday and missed the actual day, but was able to be here for the party when we celebrated on Saturday 10/26.

Brighton was so excited on the morning of his party.  He shot out of bed and was ready for the day.  We held his party at our church and that sure made for some easy set up and clean up.  It was a great thing since I didn't have help from Derek before or afterwards.  The two days he was in town was a whirl-wind of activity.  

The party was attended by mainly his preschool friends and siblings.  Brighton loves crafts and we had plenty of them.  First we decorated treat bags to use later for the piñata.  

We also played games.  There was a skeleton scavenger hunt where two teams each tried to find their skeleton bones hidden all over the house.  

Grandma helped out with one of the stations where the kids made popcorn hand-gloves.  They turned out super cute and were part of the favors.  

Daddy helped out with the "pass the spooky ball" game.

I helped the kids play "pin the nose on the pumpkin" and we also decorated foam pumpkins as well.  

Finally, the kids headed outside for the piñata.  There were no injuries (except some mild trampling to get the candy when it was over) and everybody got a turn to hit it, so it was a success.

On Brighton's actual birthday, Grandma brought over doughnuts in the morning and we sang "Happy Birthday"  Brighton even got to go to a friend's party that night to have more fun.  

At age Five, Brighton is such a joy in my life.  Here are some things I want to remember:

Stats:  Weight: 46.25 lbs (82%)

Height: 45.15" (89 %)

His favorite color is still yellow, but he also likes red.  He still sleeps with his "giraffey" at night and still takes a nap in the afternoons for about 1.5 hours.  He can skip his naps occasionally, but still falls asleep most days.  He is afraid of the dark and probably enjoys having a roommate (Maverick) although he complains about it sometimes.  He is definitely a lover and a cuddler.  

We don't allow our boys to watch much television, but he likes the shows Wild Kratts and Curious George.  He LOVES arts and crafts.  He would "craft" for hours if I let him.  He got an art kit and made a beautiful watercolor of Monet's "Water lilies" that I will have to post a picture on the blog of.  I framed it and hung it up.  

He loves to play both inside and outside with his brothers.  He can ride his big boy bike (that he got last year) without training wheels, but can use some more practice starting and stopping by himself.  He still prefers his run-bike.  

Brighton does very well at preschool (3 days a week) and I'm sure will do fine when he goes to Kindergarten next year.  It will be a big transition for both of us and I know I will miss having him around so much.  Happy Birthday Brighton!  We love you!