Liam the Fifth Turns Five!

After weeks and weeks of postponing for this, that, and the other, we finally had Liam's birthday party! The weather in July was much more stable and warm than the precarious weather of May, so for the first time ever, Liam was able to have a swim party before breaking his traditional pinata.  (Don't worry, we had a smaller, more personal, family celebration for Liam on his birthday.)

The theme for this year? What else? LEGOS! (Isn't Liam the cutest thing you ever did see!?)

 

(Surrounded by family!)

 

Before anyone gets funny ideas about me and birthdays, I'd better show you my Lego cake. I may have the patience to spend hours and hours on a pinata, but I have no patience for cakes. It might help if, for once in my life, I spent longer than the twenty minutes before the guests arrive decorating one.  I don't work well under pressure. For once, the picture actually makes the cake look better than it really was.

Here's a little peek at the festivities:

(Seth's NBA-worthy leap to grab the rope for the pinata.)

(Poor guy. The pinata, not Will.  Will rather enjoyed messing with the kids by controlling the movement of the pinata.  After five years, he's a pro.)

(Oh, the carnage!)

(Oh, the sweetness!)

I think Liam really had a blast, and we are so excited that he gets to be our five-year-old. We sure love him.

Liam on Love

Before I repeat the conversation that occurred between Liam and me, I have to explain that at the time "twenty-four" was the biggest number that could possibly exist according to Liam.

Liam: "Mom, do you love me more than twenty-four volcanoes?"
Mom: "Yes."
Liam: "More than twenty-four clouds?"
Mom: "Yes Liam."
Liam: "More than twenty-four pirates, twenty-four treasures, and twenty-four squids!?"
Mom: "You've got it."
Liam: "More than anything?"
Mom: "More than anything."

Contrast that with his comment a few days later:

Liam: "Mom, I love you more than Kleenex boxes. More than boogers."

I love you more than boogers too kiddo. Even more than twenty-four boogers.

Lego My Lego

Liam and Dado have found a new love this past year: LEGOS. I'm not sure who enjoys them more, Liam or his Dad. We now spend many of our days building, destroying, and  rebuilding. It's fun to have an activity that we all enjoy.

Liam has always had exceptional fine motor skills. (He has always been very good at getting into things!) It's nice to have a hobby that further develops those skills. It's also been very exciting to see him move from following instructions and replicating other's creations to creating his own increasingly complex masterpieces.

As a dear friend recently said, "You've got a real kid!" She meant it in relation to his age, and I have to agree that our years of toddlerhood and preschool are bittersweetly drawing to a close. Everyday he becomes a little more "little boy" and less preschooler.