Auburn Doll House: five alive!

My littlest man turned five last week. It's true that sometimes the days go by slow, but the years go by really fast! Five is a big year... he's old enough to start playing sports and lets not even talk about school next fall. Yikes.

I've come to realize a few things about birthdays this year. First, (and I have my cousin to thank for this one) is that it's hard having a birthday in December. The celebration for you is overshadowed a bit by the birthday that the rest of the world is celebrating. But it's not Luke's fault that he was born in December - actually his original due date was on Christmas! Phew... escaped that one - barely. And yes, I used holiday plates and napkins, but that goes along with the other things I've realized.

Don't get hung up on the small details. I used to want the perfect cake and perfectly coordinated everything, which is fine, but kids don't really care. All they really care about is that you are doing something to celebrate them. They want to feel special on their special day. I would prefer muffins over cake and forget the pinata altogether because I don't want to give out candy, but let's get real. Kids love candy and box cake and imperfectly decorated cakes. They want to have fun and feel loved.

I hope he knows how much he's loved. And although some days it feels like we are weathering a storm with our strong willed child, we love him unconditionally.