Inside the M&M: Matthew's 5th

Our Matthew recently turned 5. He was really excited about his birthday, as most 5-year-olds are. Hard to believe that a short time ago, he was too little for preemie clothes, and now he's taller than some of his first-grade friends. I don't anticipate the height will last long, but he's enjoying his advantage while he can.

Dad tries on the new tie. He always attempts to re-gift things back to himself. That's okay, Matthew has always been a great sharer, and this year is doing better at showing empathy too.

A superheroes backpack! Matthew loves to be thought of as brave and strong. He's a renaissance man though; this guy also loves to cook and bake and does dishes on Thursday nights (with help). He doesn't love to do chores, but when properly motivated, he amazes all of us with his efficiency: being both thorough and quick.

Matthew doesn't look excited here, but this turned out to be his favorite. It's a small electronic gadget thing from Radio Shack that you put together with adult guidance, and then play with it for hours on end. Matthew loves putting things together and taking them apart, so this really was the perfect gift for him.

He requested fajitas for dinner and fudge covered oreo cake. He had a little difficulty with some of the candles because a couple of them were trick candles- refused to go out!

Our family does the every other year approach to birthday parties, and 2010 is the year of the party. Since Matthew had the first birthday of the year (and since Daddy was still working every weekend), we went with Matthew's request: Chuck E. Cheese- land of craziness, fun games for kids, and horrible pizza.

Katrina was the designated Max-watcher until Mark could get there. She put him on the rides, which he loved.

Big Smiles from the birthday boy- when we got home, he said that he didn't actually eat any cake (which he helped to make that morning), because he was having too much fun. Don't worry, he got some.