Nathan is FIVE!

My little man is 5 years old! Nathan was so excited for his birthday to come this year - we were counting down a few weeks in advance! And he was so happy to turn five because he knows that's when you are officially school-aged. I love Nathan so much at 5 - he is such a funny and cute kid! But I will miss him being 4 and telling everyone that he's a CTR 4 when they asked how old he was. Just cute!!



To kick off Nathan's b-day we had him open his present from Grandma Karen & Grandaddy at breakfast. Dan worked the night before and brought home "birthday donuts" for a special breakfast. Can you tell how excited Nathan is?!!

The pic in the middle is Nathan saying "Whoa!" when he saw what he got - the Batman Cave!

And the day got even better when we got to go with Natalie's class to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm for a field trip. We had been there last year when it was a pumpkin patch but had never gone when they set up the Christmas Tree activities. It was a bit cold out but we had so much fun - we will definitely return next year!

There's an assortment of farm animals - can you tell Nathan didn't like the smell? haha!

And you see those 2 geese looking so innocent right where the boys are watching them?

Well they decided it was bath time!

Yep, Tyler and Nathan got splashed by the geese! Definitely a highlight of the field trip :)

The kids got to go on a hayride out to where all the Christmas trees are growing. The class even got to pick out a tree and cut it down to take back to their classroom! There was also a playground for them to play at with picnic tables. It is the most kid-friendly place!

Natalie & Nathan loved playing tether ball together. They crack me up!


Don't forget about all the hay!
They loved running through the hay bale maze. Can't say it enough, We loved this place!!!


And the celebrating wasn't over yet...
we still had to go to Nathan's favorite place for dinner and games-
Chuck E. Cheese!!!!


Tyler was all about the "rides" - check out those funny faces!
Love Tyler's bedhead (he fell asleep in the car on the drive back from Elgin)

And Nathan was all about the games...

Pizza, tokens, games, tickets, prizes, & candy - just a few of Nathan's favorite things!

Me and the birthday boy :)

Natalie is getting really good at the games - she won the most tickets of all!

Dan had to leave for work from Chuck E. Cheese and we forgot to bring the birthday cake

so we waited until the next day to eat it

Spider Man Cake!

(thanks to Sam's for rigging this one up for us last minute!)

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!!

Now a letter to Nathan from me:

Nathan,

I know lots of your favorite things (you tell me frequently), and you are one of my favorite things so I want to tell you some of my favorite things about you:

1. I love how you always start every sentence with, "Mom, I need to tell you something..."

2. I love that you love to play with your brother and sister. You let Natalie boss you around and swing you around! And you are always willing to hunt for "bad guys" with Tyler.

3. I love that you are still so sweet. Maybe it's from all the candy that you love to eat but I think you are really just a sweet little guy.

4. I love how you are almost obsessed with counting and numbers, especially when it comes to your money! Maybe you'll grow up to be an accountant (that sure would make your grandaddy proud!)

5. I love that you are still interested in hanging out with me and helping me. I haven't lost the "cool" factor yet and I plan to cherish as much time as I get with you while you still like to snuggle.

I love you, Nathan!!! You will always be my sweet, sweet boy.

Love,

Mom