Two Grasshoppers and a Bandit

 Will (7)

 Evan (7)

Holden (6)

It's Hard to Be 5

1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What is your favorite toy? my scooter
3. What is your favorite fruit? peaches
4. What is your favorite tv show? Diego
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? fruit loops (he doesn't actually get these, maybe at the beach?)
6. What is your favorite outfit? sweatpants
7. What is your favorite game? Angry Pigs
8. What is your favorite snack? fruit loops, again
9. What is your favorite animal? zebra
10. What is your favorite song? Silent Night
11. What is your favorite book? The Body Book
12. Who is your best friend? Hunter
13. What is your favorite cereal? the candy kind with dots?
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? hiking with daddy
15. What is your favorite drink? mango smoothie
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Froggy
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Daddy's pancakes and sausage
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? hamburgers and cupcakes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I just want to be a Dad, and I don't want to grow up. What can I eat so I don't grow up mom?

Holden turned five last week and we celebrated with a party of his choice, a pirate party at Pump It Up (bounce house place). We got him a '5' shirt that he is proud to wear.  He claims that he can run faster now that he is five.  But he is showing some reluctance to 'growing up'.  He wants to stay at his preschool (not go to kinder next year), and just doesn't want to 'grow'. He can be very charming and loves to cuddle with any adult but he also will revert to baby talk,crawling or even short tantrums, more like a three or four year old. He is hanging on to being the baby in the family and it is showing at school.  It came up in his teacher meeting today. His teacher is terrific with him, all the kids really, and made some good advice and recommended the book 'It's Hard to Be 5' by Jamie Lee Curtis.  

We will be doing more talking about how great it is that we have all big kids now that Holden is five and all the fun things we can do now as a family, recognizing his good 'big boy' behavior and validating his feelings but teaching him appropriate 'actions'. I didn't know it was going to be this hard to be five.  It is certainly a big milestone for us as a family. Life with six year olds and a five year old is freer and fun.  They are amazing beings and it is fun to see their personalities evolve and independence emerge. Through our trials we are having a pretty good time.

Holden Bio

Holden, four years old.  Our baby is turning five next week!

Holden enjoys sharing.  His favorite pastime is cutting and pasting, making cards, books or other sculptural gifts for his family and friends.  When he is not crafting, he likes building block castles with his older triplet siblings.  He  also has a knack for lego construction and has created many unique vehicles and even a rendition of Perry the Platypus.  Holden is an animal lover and has two pet frogs, Perry (named after the former) and Penelope, as well as a calico cat named JoJo.

He also enjoys the outdoors, going on hikes, collecting rocks or riding his scooter.   He will often offer to sell items from his treasure trove of found objects.  One day he aspires to open his own store or become a pirate.

Colorado in Pictures (Part II)

Summer

We are enjoying our summer. We spent the first couple of weeks in Colorado, peppered in a few camps and soon off to the beach. The triplets are starting kinder in a month.