The Wood Family: Benjamin's 5th Birthday!

Benjamin turned 5 this year! I can't believe it. The time has gone by quickly. Ben had decided that he wanted a pirate party earlier this year. So for months I did research to try and make it the best party I could for him. I may have gone a little over board, but I was so excited planning this party for him. His birthday fell on a Monday this year so I did a party with his friends while Jon was at work and then later that night we did the family thing. When I asked Ben who he wanted to invite to his party we ended up again with Ben and Tyler being the only boys, the rest were girls. He really needs to make some more friends that are boys. He made some friends in school this year that he wanted to invite. People were able to dress up if they wanted. My mom made costumes for both Ben and Andrew. They turned out super cute. First we had a little treasure hunt. They had to go around doing different tasks, a beanbag toss, pin the flag on the treasure, coloring, walking the blank, and then they were lead to the treasure which was the pinata. After we ate shark meat (watermelon), veggies of the sea (vegetables), and cheese and cracker, with pirate ale (root beer) to drink. And of course a pirate ship for a cake, which Ben never wanted to cut into and eat, Jon ended up throwing it away while the boys and I were in New Hampshire. Thank goodness I made cupcakes to go along with it. Later that day Ben decided he wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and then we came home to do cake and presents. He was spoiled with a pirate ship from Grandma and Grandpa Andreas. We also decided to start him on real legos. Benjamin is growing up so fast. We love having him in our family. He can be so kind to others, especially with friends from school and his younger brother. I love watching the moments when he doesn't think I'm looking and helps Andrew or asks if he is okay. He does have to habit of telling on people. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But for now if it's not life threatening I usually thank him and ignore what's going on. He loves to play and I wish that I could let him play until he dropped at night, but then I think he would never go to bed and I would never get peace and quiet before I went to bed. He loves to draw and color. He is getting better everyday. The details in his pictures are improving constantly. He loves to draw pirate ships and anything that he sees in movies. When the movie Tangled came our he was able to draw the castle, tower, and the glowing lanterns with a lot of detail. He is my first born and I love him to death, but I know that I have a lot to learn from him. Happy Birthday Benjamin!