Ethan is F-I-V-E

I can hardly believe Ethan is five now! We'll celebrate his birthday tonight with a party at Wallabies for his preschool friends and a Star Wars-themed party tomorrow with the family. We also had a small celebration at home on his birthday on Monday. I made birthday cake pancakes for breakfast, his favorite dinner (homemade flour tortilla tacos) and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Then he got to open presents (after Daddy sent him on a fun scavenger hunt to find them, which he loved!). Hmm, I guess I shouldn't wonder why he thinks it's his birthday week, huh? ;)

Here's a fun look back at the birthday boy each year...

I took Ethan to his pediatrician yesterday for his 5-year well-check. Everything went great and he appears to be right on track with his peers. He actually completed all of the tasks on the developmental milestones checklist which goes through age 6, so that's good! He gained an incredible 7.5 pounds over the past year to weigh in at 41.5 pounds (fully clothed, with shoes), and grew almost 2 inches to measure up at 43.5 inches (without shoes). This puts him in the 63rd percentile for height and 57th percentile for weight. Looking at both figures, he's right on the 50th percentile for height-to-weight ratio, with a BMI of 15.4. He had to get three shots (Polio, MMRV - measles, mumps, rubella & varicella, and DTaP - diphtheria, tetanus & pertussis), so now he is ready for kindergarten in the fall! He passed his vision and hearing screens with no problem as well. Let's hope he gets Daddy's perfect vision, and not Mommy's horrible vision!

Ethan has grown so much (not just physically) in the past year. He is quite independent, very strong-headed (no idea where he'd get that from! haha!), intelligent, hilarious, empathetic, and kind. With the start of his 2nd year of preschool in August, he started getting dressed all by himself ("tags go in the back!") from his shirt and shorts/pants to his socks, shoes, and coat. He also brushes his teeth on his own and gets his own snacks when he wakes up from his naps (so much for those childproof doorknob covers!). He orders his dinner when we go out (he does NOT like us ordering his drink for him - he wants to choose something besides water! Haha!). He helps out by doing small chores around the house, like filling Daisy's food bowl, helping to set and clear the table, and picking up toys. He is able to walk Daisy, or push Amos's stroller when we take family walks. He is an incredible helper and is the best big brother that Noah and Amos could have. He's always looking out for them, and shares everything from food to toys with them, without any intervention from us! If he gets to pick a prize/small toy somewhere, he always gets one for Noah, too. If he thinks there is only one of a food item left, he'll save it for Noah, instead of eating it himself. He even let Noah help him open his birthday presents this year, and he has been sharing them with him, too! He's unbelievably sweet and caring. When someone doesn't feel good, he's the first to comfort them, and wants to do anything he can to make them feel better. He's also very thoughtful. Sometimes, he'll ask me to break apart small Legos for him. If he sees me struggling to get them, he'll tell me to stop, so I don't "ruin my pretty nails." Hahahaha! He does a great job if you give him tasks to complete. On the other hand though, with less structure, he can get whiny and is bad about talking back. :/ I suppose it goes with the age At least I keep telling myself that anyway. Overall, he's a pretty fantastic little guy and I consider myself lucky to be his mama. :)

I started asking this list of questions to Ethan last year, to see how they change over the years. Here are this year's questions and answers (if you can't read them in the pic):

1. What is your favorite color? purple
2. What is your favorite toy? my double light saber
3. What is your favorite fruit? pears and grapes
4. What is your favorite TV show/movie? Star Wars and Tom & Jerry
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? vanilla pudding and cheesesticks
6. What is your favorite outfit? comfy pants and motorcycle shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Candyland
8. What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? dogs and cats
10. What is your favorite song? Star Wars song
11. What is your favorite book? Star Wars book
12. Who is your best friend? Gus
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? drive my dune buggy
15. What is your favorite drink? root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my doggies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? pumpkin pancakes
19. What is your favorite dinner? tacos and mac 'n cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? engineer like Daddy

As our firstborn, Ethan still continues to keep us on our toes, teach us about kids and how to be parents. He amazes us daily with the things that he says and does and we look forward to what this year will bring with it. Happy 5th birthday, Ethan. We love you!