Reed turned 5 today! He has been so excited about his birthday for weeks. Well, since Aaron’s birthday. He’s had a countdown going for the last few days. Yesterday, when I woke him up, he said “IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!” And I had to tell him “not quite yet.” So, he was so excited this morning.

We spent our afternoon outside with Danae and all of the dogs again. I let Reed borrow the camera and he took some great photos, like this one…

Then it was Lena’s turn and she was slightly more successful…

Danae and her husband Kyle are in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. I was talking to her yesterday about babywearing, and promised to bring out our carrier today. So, we played around with it for awhile.

Reed has almost reached the weight limit, but still has a few lbs to go. I can carry him in it, but would never do it except for fun. He’s just too heavy and too easily mobile himself (with so much energy to burn).

Danae wanted to see what it was like to carry a 40lb 5year old on her back.

Lucy and Lacey had to consult.

Lena really loves his carrier. We don’t get it out very often, but that’s just because I don’t think about it. But today, she was in it until I got her out so Danae could try it… probably a half hour or so. While Reed was running around playing. She was totally content to curl up in there and rest her head on me. It’s a great tool for bigger kids who need some time to chill with their parents, too.

Danae was so sweet and got Reed and Lena a chore chart for a birthday gift. A sign of a good friend is when they get your kid a chore chart for their birthday and they make sure it’s okay with you first! 🙂 Seriously, though, I think it’s going to be a bit hit. They were playing with the magnetics tonight, talking about some of the good things they did today.

We celebrated Reed’s birthday at dinner. He picked out mashed potatoes and burgers for his meal. He scarfed them down and immediately asked for his cake and ice cream. We told him we’d like to wait until everyone was done, so he opened a card from his Nana and Grandpa (Aaron’s parents) in the mean time.

He chose to open his gift first. All I had was girly paper, Christmas-y paper or these snowmen. Don’t judge.

Then his cousin called him… he may have hung up on him, eager to open his present.

He got… Zingo! He’s not to sure about it.

Aaron tried to explain it to him.

“Yes, hello. I’d like to make a return, please.”

Then, we sang to him and cut into the cake.

He was way more excited about the ice cream than the cake.

Lena is not generally a fan of sweet things, but she will eat something fresh like this. She eats all the frosting first and then the cake.

In his 5 shirt! Now with cake all over it.