Team Barron: February 7, 2012

On February 7, 2012, William woke up to find 5 balloons floating above his head. "Hey Mom, did you see these balloons? There are 3 blue ones and 2 red ones so that equals 5. How did you get these in my room when I was sleeping? I didn't even hear you during the 8 hours I had to lay still and sleep."

And then the big question - "Mom, am I 5 now?"

And thus began William's official 5th birthday celebration.

William dined on a number 5 pancake and 5 grapes for his 5th birthday breakfast. He was thrilled to FINALLY be 5 but played it cool most of the morning.

He was delighted to parade around wearing the birthday boy badge I gave him to wear to school.

I decorated his lunch box with Angry Bird stickers and Dada and I each wrote him a birthday note. I tucked them inside his lunch box along with a M&M cookie as a little "we are thinking of you!" surprise. His teachers told me his face lit up when he saw our notes.

At 2:00, Dada and I headed to school for William's class party. I found a donut shop in town that will make donuts in any shape imaginable. And of course, our donuts were AIRPLANES! William was so pleased with how they turned out and I added some cute little flags for a festive touch. Interestingly enough, the flags were William's favorite part of the birthday snack. He was so proud to have "signs" that said his name and declared him officially 5 years old. Oh the little things that make a kiddo happy!

Several weeks ago, William's teacher sent home an empty Birthday Book with instructions for me to fill it with pictures of William's life from ages 1-5. I loved the idea and quickly completed the book and returned it to school. I really didn't give it much thought after that.

Then on William's birthday, Mrs. Overcash asked him to come to the front of the class for his birthday presentation. Obviously, this is a HUGE deal because it is a chance for the birthday child to be in the spotlight among their peers. William smiled as he walked to the front of the class and looked like an old pro at the birthday routine (I guess that stems from watching other friends go before him!). Mrs. Overcash put a birthday crown on his head and opened up the Birthday Book that I had filled with pictures. Mrs. Overcash asked him who made the book for him, and William said, "oh my mom for sure. She loves pictures." HA!

Mrs. Overcash knows exactly how to make a child feel special. She spent about 8 minutes going through the birthday book with William and she asked William to explain several of the pictures I had attached. He didn't miss a beat. It was really cute to watch him point to himself as a baby and explain in his own words what he was doing in a picture. Some of the kids asked him questions and he just stood up there holding court in his birthday crown. Dan and I got a real kick out of watching William around his peers. Mr. Cool with a gentle spirit.

After the birthday book, the class sang "Happy Birthday" and Mrs. Overcash went around the room asking the kids if they would like to give William advice. Some of the answers included "You are so nice, be kind to your dentist, be helpful, love your mom and dad, share with others, always clean the table" and a few other random and funny answers!

William also got a turn digging in the Birthday Treasure Chest. He knew exactly what he wanted and dug to the bottom to find a shiny gold race car. Good choice!

Then it was time to eat the airplane donuts. William got to pick 4 friends to sit a the table with him. He chose Kingsley, Scarlett, Luke and Jake.

We all had a great time and I really appreciated how much the teachers and students celebrated our birthday boy.

After school, we headed home and geared up for William's birthday dinner at the restaurant of his choice. It was going to be a late night partying, so Adeline changed into her cupcake pjs to keep with the late night theme.

He chose Wing Run. It's a random little joint right down the street from us that serves up delicious BBQ. But best of all, it is an airplane themed restaurant. Can you believe it? I tell ya what, airplanes are our constant companion. William waltzed right in Wing Run and told the lady at the counter it was his birthday and that he loves airplanes so that is why we came to Wing Run. She thought William was hilarious and after dinner, the Wing Run crew presented William with a chocolate fudge pop. He was thrilled!