Parents of a five year old!?!

Nolan is five.  We are amazed and in disbelief simultaneously.  But the proof is there that he is a brilliant and creative little five year old guy.  The most amazing thing about the past year is how inseparable he has become from his sister.  I tried to get him out with me along to I Dream of Weenie, our favorite hot dog stand just around the corner, and he protested twice that Nico had to come with us!  I finally told him that we were going to sneak away together for a hot dog and being "sneaky" got him into our mission as a dynamic duo and allowed him to leave his sister behind.

Nolan has passion and some to spare.  The past year has demonstrated an everlasting love for dinosaurs and trains, and he picked dinosaurs for his party theme.  (And as a kiddie pop culture reference, there is a PBS show Dinosaur Train that for the record he LOVES.  The love of dinosaurs and trains was an imperative beforehand however.)  Often, our family is actually a triceratops family and Nolan will take his turn as the baby.

Nolan is blessed with fantastic friendships that he has gone into great details about this school year.  Pictured are Evan and Josh (who also just turned five and Nolan tells me they're the oldest in the class.) Then Opie, birthday boy and Rose.  He had a few other sweet party guests, Elliot, Evan and Ruby.  Here they are solemnly waiting to go on the dinosaur egg hunt...

They tore through the egg hunt and Nolan was ready to start breaking into the pinata.  Once it was smashed the kids were thrilled candy was inside but disappointed it was only one kind... Skittles.  I learned a lot from this party, as every party I've had for Nolan has taught me a valuable lesson.  This time I learned how you need to plan probably three times the activities you think you'll need to keep the kids busy... and that three hours is way too long for a kid party... it all seems like common sense in retrospect but not for me!  The kids did a great job just hanging out and playing like kids do so there was no tragedy.

Nolan just seems five now in every way.  He shares his opinions on everything, he voices his emotions so much more eloquently, listens intently and remembers everything we say, knows the boundaries of mischief and good behavior and he loves his family and friends and is still super snuggly and loves to sit in my lap.  There's a lot in store for him and I can't wait to see what my boy can do, but I'd rather just slow this down and enjoy five.