This birthday was supposed to be low key, but we ended up packing as much fun into Roo's birthday as was possible. He received his first gifts right after breakfast, a pair of graphic stories about a little dog named Polo. The Adventures of Polo has been selected and checked out of the library every time it has been on the shelf for a year; I thought it time he had his own copy. Boo got to present the gift, which she did with the statement, "Here's your gift. AND I'm not going to fight with you at all today." She then proceeded to read to him. I wish every day could start out this well!
After breakfast Rooster and Miss Boo rode to Lowe's with Daddy for some necessary parts. Toilets need to be repaired whether or not someone is having a birthday! The toilet repair job turned into a four hour spontaneous father-son building project. The old toilet float was too tempting to just throw away, so the Captain suggested repurposing into a birthday scepter; in the end it became a robot with blinking LED eyes, voice activated lights on its chest, and mechanical arms made from old computer parts. What a fun bonding experience the two of them had!
In the afternoon we moved over to Grammy and Guppy's house for swimming and cookout. Some friends joined us, and the kids had lots of fun playing with trucks, rocking wildly in the hammock, and riding in the tractor.
But for all its fun, the ultimate part of the day was yet to come: the cake. In the Captain's family lore, I have heard tales of the time his mom made him an alligator cake for his 5th birthday. They even still have photos. She made it a second time for his 18th birthday, because that cake is the only thing he remembers about his 5th birthday. This weekend it was Rooster's turn to turn five, and Grammy delivered the goods a third time. The gator balloon she got to go with it really put the whole experience over the top. Also note the finished robot looking on.
Two of his gifts were a bubble machine and a bubble wand. The day after his birthday, he set that machine up on a table so it would blow bubbles right at him. He stood there swinging the bubble wand, which happens to look exactly like a light saber, at the oncoming bubbles, while singing the Star Wars theme song at the top of his lungs. I love little boys!
We had fun celebrating this little boy birthday. Between splashing and swinging, trucks and tractors, a light-up robot, a gator cake and the presence of friends and family, our son stepped out of early childhood and proudly into his new position in life as a five-year-old.
You summed it up so beautifully! :)
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