Happy birthday, Brendan!

Wednesday, Brendan officially turned 5. Wow! He's no longer my baby (or maybe he hasn't been for some time). In less than three weeks, he'll be attending his first day of school. Oh my.

Me and my 5-year-old (and Kelsey)

We celebrated his day in an upside-down fashion, since Ken had to work late into the evening. Brendan attempted to eat five pancakes, but said his stomach just couldn't do it. (For the record, his stomach can do it, namely at Zach's on Sunday mornings.) Then he opened presents. Brendan was thrilled to receive several Rescue Heroes toys and two Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie reader books. He also loved his new race car and Legos.

Brendan's excited to get Rescue Heroes toys.

He was much too excited to stop for cake at 10 a.m., but we convinced him to at least blow out the candles. Then he decided ice cream cake wasn't for him. (Ken and I needed something other than regular birthday cake after having had three cakes since Aug. 2.)

Brendan blows out the candles on his Carvel ice cream cake. We were "caked-out" after so many birthday celebrations. Brendan didn't dare to taste it; Ryan couldn't shovel it in his mouth fast enough!

An overcast day and light rain kept us from the pool later in the afternoon, but we spent plenty of time playing outside. Brendan practiced riding his new bike and didn't mind his first fall.

Ryan did pretty well while his brother opened presents. It wasn't until Brendan saw his bike that Ryan started to throw a fit. He wanted his chance to ride, too.

Brendan at 5

• He still says some mixed up words/phrases. My current favorite: "each gether" instead of "each other."
• He's growing into a good big brother. This week he taught Ryan how to do puzzles that Ryan received for his birthday. He was so patient and encouraging. With Kelsey, he always tells her how much he loves ("My heart is so big for you") and plays with her.
• He talks nonstop. Nonstop. I'm not sure how this child breathes at times. But his sister loves it, because he'll sit next to her on the floor and play, describing everything he does in detail to her.
• He loves to build with Legos. Now he's getting more into the little sets that require lengthy instructions. But he also enjoys building with the bigger blocks.
• He's an artist these days. He'll spend hours coloring in his books and drawing pictures. He stays in the lines and carefully chooses colors for each picture.
• He can write very well now. He knows his address and phone number and can count to 100 if given the time.
• He enjoys making his own peanut butter sandwich -- his lunchtime favorite of the moment -- when I'm busy nursing Kelsey.
• Pizza still ranks as his #1 food choice. Just cheese, please. And he loves to dunk his breadsticks, just like his mom.
• He's outgrown his dairy allergy at this point, but he still shows some sensitivity to foods such as ketchup, sweettarts and some tomato sauces. His left cheek and ear will turn red and get hot. He isn't bothered by it.
• For at least three years, he's had warts on his hands. At one point, he had nine of them. I'm pleased to say they are all gone. His body has finally fought off the virus.
• He's obsessed with everything from the movie Cars. He loves Dinoco Lightning and is on a quest to find Tex.
• He also is into superheroes, primarily Spiderman.
• He loves reading. He has since he was a baby. He even stops what he's doing to listen to me read baby books to Ryan and Kelsey. He just loves reading.