Trey turns five!!!

I find it hard to believe that my baby boy is five.   When I think about how I want to describe my son at five, I kind of find myself speechless.  Trey is amazing to his dad and me.  We get such joy and pleasure out of being his parents, and our family unit is pretty awesome.  Some of the things I love most about Trey right now...
1. His love for his mama.  The other day, Trey woke up and called out to me and said, "Mama, I have to tell you something.  I walked in his room and said, "Yes, honey?"  and he replied, "I love you."  Trey and I have such a special bond, and we love to cuddle and talk and just be together.  Honestly, there's no one I would rather spend time with than Trey.
2. His creativity and imagination.  Now I'm not talking about art because I am a terrible Art Mama.  I am so bad at doing anything crafty - always have been and probably always will be.  What I'm talking about is his imagination with play.   He can spend hours playing with his little figures (Super Heroes, Ninja Turtles, and now Sponge Bob (barf)) making up stories and setting up situations.  He gets frustrated when I don't follow exactly with what he has in mind, but he's getting better at explaining it to me.  Unfortunately, my memory does not always hold it all in capacity, so then we start to play and I forget what the character was supposed to say and he gets mad, but whatever.
3. His love of books and learning.  Right now Trey is a sponge, and his memory kills me.  He is certainly ready for kindergarten, but more than that he is interested in what he is learning.  He is really interested in science and animals, so he and Randy are really bonding over that.  He is starting to read and loves books, so he and I are bonding over that.  He is also a crazy mathematician, and I have been having a lot of fun with him working with numbers and increasing his number sense.
4. His love of his friends and family.  Trey does okay when he's alone, but he would always choose to be with people.  He loves spending time with his cousins, Grady and Case, and he loves spending time with his friends.  A playdate with a buddy is one of Trey's favorite things to do, which makes me so happy!
5. His personality.  I just love Trey's personality.  He is funny and caring and silly and sensitive.  He loves to dance to Beastie Boys and still loves it when I sing You Are My Sunshine to him every night.  He has his opinions about things, but he is also open minded to new ideas (unless it has to do with food).  He is clever and curious and always asking questions.  I would not want him any other way.

One of the things Trey had on his birthday list was a super spy costume.  I'm not sure why since he hasn't worn it since his birthday weekend, but I love these pictures.  Trey is such a ham, and he loves being different characters and playing different roles.

All Trey's birthday really meant to him was a birthday party.  I tried, oh trust me I tried, to convince him we should have his party at some alternative setting where I wouldn't have to do any work (e.g. Playdate PDX),  but he was adamant that he wanted it at home.  Okay, kid.  Your party.

Trey was waiting outside our house way before anyone was due to show up.  He loves just sitting on this step and keeping watch.

Grandma and Grandpa Clark came into town for Trey's birthday, and here are the Clarks sitting in the backyard waiting for guests to arrive (Trey took a brief reprieve from the front steps).

Trey was so excited to invite several friends from his preschool.  It is a little weird to me that we have transitioned from inviting our friends with their kids (who Trey knows, of course) to Trey's friends with their parents (who we don't really know).  He was over the moon to have his preschool friends at our house.  It was really sweet.  

 Playing Go Fish

Water balloon toss...sort of 

What was intended to be an innocent water balloon toss game turned into a full out water balloon war.  Luckily, no one got hurt, and I think some of the parents may have had the most fun.  

Pin the pizza on the turtle 

Lining up for a turn with the pinata 

Trey doing his best to break out the candy 

Kids gathering the loot 

Making a wish! 

Say cheese! 

The kids lined up eating cake 

Opening gifts - I think Ryland and Everett oversaw the process quite nicely. 

Trey is such a lucky guy.  He has some really great friends and got some really fun presents.  I have been tormenting myself about thank you notes all summer.  I wrote them to a few people, but I did not get them all done.  They are literally sitting on my kitchen counter - two months later - and I have to decide whether to just put them away or send out really belated thank you notes.  If you're reading this and I didn't send you a thank you note for Trey's birthday gift, I am really really sorry.

Grandma and Grandpa Clark stayed around for a few days (some babysitting was in their future) and we had a great time with them.  Unfortunately, Trey has a new love of water balloons, so he and Grandpa spent some time in the backyard filling them up.

Sunday morning was Father's Day, so we all went over to Julie's house for brunch.  My dad was in town for Trey's birthday, so we got to spend Father's Day morning with him too.

Case, Trey, and Grady jumping on Grandpa Gerts

Trey got a cool volcano from Grandpa Gerts and Sanny, so when Randy and I took off on our adventure on Father's Day afternoon, we left Grandpa Doug in charge of the explosions.

Thanks to everyone who made Trey's fifth birthday so special for him!  He loves his birthdays, and he is already talking about the next one!