Happy Birthday Booker!

Five years ago, at 39 weeks pregnant, I came into the hospital so my doctor could try and flip the breech baby boy growing inside my belly. The doctor pushed and pulled and shoved and leaned and prodded and even stood on a step stool to get more leverage. Man, was that uncomfortable. But that baby boy wouldn't budge. A few hours and one major incision later, that little guy was finally in my arms. What a happy day it was for me and Clark. What a telling sign that Booker would be a headstrong, sometimes backwards, always exciting little human being. Happy birthday buddy!

Booker's second day of school went a little better than the first. It had to, right? It was his birthday! It was also his first day on the bus.

I met him for lunch in the cafeteria and it was fun to sit with his class and eat. I was reminded of just how young these kids are when his classmates kept asking me to open their milk/crackers/fruit snacks/etc.

Then I headed home to start working on his cake. Booker was very specific and asked for a blue light saber crossed with a red one. And he wanted Jango Fett on there somewhere. This cake wasn't too hard, especially for a cake making novice like myself. I found the idea here.

When I picked him up from the bus stop, he looked like this. I hope none of the older kids on the bus made fun of him.

And then we waited and waited until Clark came home. I let Booker determine the order of the evening and naturally, he wanted to open presents first. His gifts were some Nerf guns and a pillow pet. Someone was selling their Nerf gun collection on Craigslist, so we are fully loaded up. We invite any and all neighborhood children over for a Nerf battle.

I will never understand this whole pillow pet craze.

Then we headed downstairs for dinner. I told Booker he could have whatever he wanted for dinner and he asked for chicken stew. Not pizza or corn dogs or mac and cheese. Just chicken stew. I decided to spice things up a bit with some Yoda Soda.

We played a rousing game of Chutes and Ladders during dinner.

After dinner, there were several Nerf battles.

And then cake.

He wanted the Jango Fett piece.

Yummy.

We ended the evening with a night time dip in the pool, which is one of Booker's favorite things to do. He thinks the pool is pretty neat with the underwater pool light on. It was a good day for a night time swim because earlier in the afternoon, Ike started swimming in the deep end. He was able to show off for all of us.

Booker had a great day. He didn't seem to mind at all that it was a family birthday party and not a friend one. He's so excited to be five because according to him, "fives-years-olds" know how to read, button their church shirts and wipe their own bums. I'm especially excited about that last one.

This morning, I was looking forward to sending Booker off to his third and hopefully first "normal" day of school, but he woke up complaining that his stomach hurt. He threw up all over my bed naturally and then fell asleep next to the toilet. And he's now spent the morning falling asleep all over the house. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

That is one wiped out birthday kid. Happy birthday, Booker. We love you so much!