Holy Torpedo, Batman!

This blog is so behind in it's posts!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Here's to playing catch-up all this week:

The biggest event missed ... Finley turned five last week! To celebrate we partied like superheroes (see the end of this post for pics and full details). He was very dismayed when he woke up on his actual bday and realized that we don't have friend parties on Sundays, but he survived. Below are pics of the quiet night with us and then the party with all his caped crusader buddies.

Seriously, I can't believe that I am the mother of a 5 year old. Where has the time gone? These past 5 years I've learned that he's very sensitive. His feelings are tender and fragile. Finley is independent yet cautious and he internalizes everything. Hmmm.... he sounds a lot like me? He loves to be silly and he says the wittiest things at times. I wish I could remember to write them down. The faces & expressions he makes are very theatrical and he loves to pose for the camera. His friends mean the world to him and play-dates are his idea of heaven. He's very good at figuring out new things all by himself - like building complex lego sets just by looking at the instruction booklet - the same one that confuses me. He loves to play his leapster, do mazes, connect the dots, and has an imagination that amazes me. He's a great big brother to Berlin, and for the most part is generous, kind, and very protective of her. He trains her in the ways of the Jedi, helps her fight like a superhero, and teaches her new words, songs, and stories. He loves to read books and our new thing is to sit at the table and make up stories together while we eat. He's still a picky eater, but we are getting better. Atleast he'll eat chicken & steak & ham whereas a year ago he wouldn't eat any meat. He is so brave - especially when he had to get all his Kindergarten shots last week. He's our resident photographer and LOVES to snap pictures with my camera and honestly, some of them are pretty dang good. Today, after church, he told me that Robin (of Batman and Robin) had a black mask, not a red one, and I said, well, we didn't have another black one left over from his party, but I could make him one if he wanted. He turned to Ryan and said, "Mom's the best." It melted my heart and reminded me that this is what being a mom is all about. Knowing that he loved the masks & capes I did for the party made staying up the night before until 3:30am totally worth it. Finley keeps me on my toes, and though we have our ups & downs here and there, I can honestly say he is a joy in my life and I love him so very much. There are times where I miss the cute chubby baby that loved to be held by me and me alone, but I am really enjoying this new stage of independence, self discovery, and learning.

PICS FROM THE FRIEND PARTY: We had a superhero theme this year. I made each kid a superhero cape & mask and set up an obstacle course in the backyard where they had flying practice, played musical villains, had target practice with air dart guns & arrows, displayed their super-hero strength, and defeated villains with silly string. We also had a lab that was taken over by the Joker. He spilled toxic liquid (soda) and the kids had to identify (guess the flavor) in order to clean it up and defeat him. They were all rewarded with molten chocolate bat-cave cake. It was a super-fun day for some super-great heroes!