Ever since it turned June, Blake has been counting down the days until it was finally his birthday!
Preschool had ended for him the week before and he was able to have a day for them to celebrate. We brought the class cookies, and he had his favorite book read "Go, Dog. Go!" where he knew almost all the words :)
Here is a picture of him on the day they celebrated his birthday at preschool, and on his last day of school. Grown and much more confident than when he started!
His birthday fell on a Monday this year, just like the day he was born! So we celebrated as a family a little bit on the Saturday two days before. First, Blake had his last soccer game of the season. It was his first time playing and he had a fun time trying something new! He had a great coach, made some friends, and occasionally kicked the ball too, ha!
His first game he worked hard and scored a goal, and while he mostly lost interest in staying with the ball the rest of the games, he did his best, and we're glad he worked hard and had fun!
That Saturday we also went out as a family to go mini-golfing. This was Blake's choice, so we went to a fun pirate themed one and even though it was hot the boys loved it!
On Blake's birthday that Monday he didn't have school so I decided to treat him to the movies and his request was to see the Angry Birds movie! I had tried to talk him into seeing Finding Dory, but since Jacob already got to see Angry Birds at a birthday party Blake wanted a chance to see it too. So we made a day of it and had a good time! Ava could have been better but there was only one other group in the theater so hopefully they didn't mind Ava's whining halfway through.
The night of Blake's birthday was also special since he had his preschool graduation ceremony too! It kind of felt fitting that as he was turning a new year he was graduating and really getting ready for kindergarten and a whole new year ahead.
And he looked so grown up and cute I could hardly stand it!
The ceremony was very cute as they got to sing some songs, one even in spanish, and then got their little diplomas. I was proud of my big boy and all he had learned this year in preschool! Sometimes it wasn't easy getting him down to Saratoga every day, and having Ava sacrifice naps, but I'm so grateful for the progress Blake made in his two preschool classes this year- it was all worth it to get him ready for Kindergarten! He loved preschool so much!
So after the ceremony I took the kids to a nearby park and Luke picked up some pizza (Blake's request) and we had Blake's birthday party there! The playground was quiet and it was a nice night to be celebrating. It was perfect!
All day Blake hadn't believed it wouldn't really be his birthday until he got his presents. So after dinner when we finally sat down for him to open his gifts, he opened one and then said "Ok I'm definitely 5 now!" He was so excited, it was too cute!
His favorite gift, one that he had been asking for, was a "Frank". He had a great birthday!
We drove everything home and then had our cake there- of course it had to be a blue cake!
My little boy is growing so fast! You may have noticed from some of the pictures he also recently lost his first tooth when he was still 4. On May 17 it came out when I was brushing his teeth, and he lost his second one soon after!
Blake is such a sweet boy and I love how he's so good at expressing to family how much he loves us. His laughter is contagious and he is becoming much more independent too. He still loves playing with trains and cars, TMNT, building Legos, and playing with his brother and he's great at making new friends. I love watching him grow up but wish time could slow down a little bit. I'm sure 5 will be a great year for Blake!
