Birthday-Palooza

Mark's birthday party Saturday night was great! I can't believe he's five. FIVE. That was a hard one for me with Eric, but I kind of thought I'd be okay with Mark turning five since I'd been through it before. Not so much. Mark kept saying, "Now I'm five" on Saturday and I would tell him "nope, not yet, not til tomorrow." It is just such a big sounding number, and you know what? He is big. On Sunday I kept remembering all about the day he was born. I had him and they took him off to clean him up and he'd been gone a really long time and when the nurse came by I asked if I could walk down to see my baby. She looked at me like I was insane but then said, well, I guess but let me ask a doctor. He had low blood sugar at birth and a broken clavicle which I must say freaked me out even after the doctor said it wasn't hugely unusual or dangerous and that it would heal just fine. I remember when he finally was brought back to me that he was so little and sweet and I was thrilled and terrified all at once about adding this new baby to our family. I remember seeing Eric that day and thinking how huge he was even though he was still only a baby himself. I knew almost immediately that he had a very different personality than our first born. That proved to be very true. Mark is such a smart boy, very challenging, and he pushes every limit. I don't say that to be negative, because I think these can be good qualities if tempered and shaped and directed to be used in a good way. He is such a sweet boy and takes such good care of his little brothers. Yesterday, on his "real" birthday we had lunch at Wendy's (his choice) and went to "Rock Forest," otherwise known as Fred Howard Park and played on the playground and flew the airplane he got for his birthday. Fun day! Ben
pretty much hated the pinata
until he managed to get his hands on some candy. Then he loved it. I even let him eat some. Wow, I've lightened up a lot. Anyway, I think everyone had a great time!