The Big Bear

Gummy Bear turned 5 Tuesday. How is this possible? He's been hair-on-fire excited for the past week. Since his birthday was on a Tuesday, his official party isn't until next Friday. Still he had his school party and we had a little family get together on his actual birthday. He decided he wanted Chik-Fil-A for dinner, so there we went. He also insisted that we all wear party hats. The woman who took our order was trying desperately (and failing) not to laugh.

What can I say about my Gummy Bear? He's a precocious, high-energy little man. The day after he turned 5, he told me that he was excited to be 5 because "I'm going to be so much smarter this year!" He loves board games and playing outside and conducting "speriments". Of course, the speriments usually end up with a mess or broken toys or both ... but hey, he is his father's son.

It's a good thing he's sweet-natured, because he is naturally bossy. I can only imagine the trouble he'll be leading his brother into in the years to come.

Gummy Bear is one of the most outgoing kids I've ever met. When we registered him for kindergarten (gulp) a few weeks ago, he went off with one of the teachers like they were old friends. And when I asked him who he wanted to invite from his pre-K class, he rattled off the entire classroom. When I asked his teachers who his pals were, they confirmed that "he kind of plays with everyone." I'm so thankful for his outgoing, generous and loving spirit. He never has a bad thing to say about his friends and wouldn't know what to do with a clique (and yes, they exist, even in pre-K).

The Bear loves all things sparkly and shiny, and his current favorite colors are red and pink. I'm hanging on to his penchant for sparkly and shiny just as long as I can, since I know a few years of school are likely to quash even those small excursions from the "norm."

He's a funny kind of kid. Recently, he discovered Finding Nemo, which if you remember has sharks in a support group with the tag line "Fish are Friends, not Food." When we had fish for dinner a few nights later, I was surprised to hear him chanting, "Fish are Friends, not Food" before each bite, only to say "He tastes delicious!" after he swallowed. It's fun watching his sense of humor develop. Today's joke was "What kind of pet does the sun have? A hotdog!"

More than anything, I love my biggest boy more than I can say. Happy Birthday, Gummy Bear.



We had a fun family get together. G-Pa decorated their dining room for his birthday. Bear was appropriately shocked and awed. The "5" balloon is as big as he is. It will likely last until his next birthday, so maybe we can use it as the measuring sticks.

Neena made him a beautiful cake, and he most thoroughly enjoyed it.

And boy, I just had to include this picture of the rarely seen, unigepa. Neigh.