Mitchell is FIVE!

My favorite child turned FIVE on Monday.

We stayed up late Sunday night to assemble his new train table!

(Man, we love him so much.)

His one wish for his birthday was to go bowling.

We drove about 30 miles to find a decent bowling alley.

(Thanks BYU-Idaho and your affinity to this antiquated American past time.)

Needless to say, Colette won.

I'm not bitter that she used bumpers and beat me by four points...

We followed bowling with the movie SING!

So fun.

Then we came home to blow out the candles on Mitchell's Lego birthday cake.

I joke with people a lot that Mitchell is my favorite child,

but I have good reason to feel that way.

He is filled with qualities that just melt my heart daily.

He loves to give hugs and tell you that he loves you.

He is becoming a great helper, especially now that he is 5.

He has just a funny way of wording everything he says in a way you don't expect.

My kids were all watching the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon from Nickelodeon,

and a few minutes into it, Mitchell turns to me and asks,

"So these would be freshwater turtles?"

Because that's what all kids are thinking about as they watch cartoons...

The ecological factors of the fictional characters in their habitats.

He also has an adorable friend named Cooper.

And apparently after meeting and befriending Cooper,

we are discovering how many other kids are named Cooper as well.

So whenever we hear the name Cooper, Mitchell looks around,

and if it isn't HIS friend Cooper, he will say, 

"Oh, it's not a real Cooper."

We were watching the beginning scene of Toy Story 2,

where Buzz Lightyear is acting as if he really is exploring in outer space.

Mitchell exclaimed, "This movie is EPIC! ...given that he is a toy."

Ok, Ok, Ok... just one more, please?

We were at the zoo on a really hot day this summer. 

We had one drink and Parker and Colette were begging me,

"Can we have some ice?!"

And then a few minutes later Mitchell asks,

"Mom, do you have something crunchy and cold that maybe I could put in my mouth?"

Ummm, like ICE?!?!

Other fun things about Mitchell I want to remember...

He does really well in our preschool together.

I'm excited and yet dying inside at the thought of him starting Kindergarten next year.

I think he will really thrive, but I will miss him sooooo much!

He is so overly excited about the funniest and simplest things.

He will ask me, "Mom, do you have all the ingredients that you could make spaghetti for dinner tonight?"

And when I reply positively that I do, he says, 

"YESSSSS!!!" and does a fist pump and a victory dance.

I bought him a new comforter and he was ready to go to bed at 3:30 because he was so excited about it.

Once Richard was even handing out dollar bills for some reason...

He ran out and so gave Mitchell a coupon he had in his pocket.

You would have thought Mitchell had a winning lottery ticket.

He was so excited about that stupid coupon!

With all that being said, I do have to point out that he is a complete SLOTH!

Literally the slowest living creature on the planet.

And he absolutely cannot be rushed.

It's a quality we have learned to love about him

with much patient adaptation to our schedules.

If he needs to use the restroom (especially out in public)

you are easily looking at a 30 minute adventure.

And when it's time to leave the house for any reason,

I've learned you have to tell him about 25 minutes ahead of everyone else to get his shoes on, 

and he will still be the last one in the car.

And I'll spare you any descriptions of his bedtime routine...

However, we wouldn't want him any other way.

He definitely is one child that make Richard and I both wish that we could still time for just a 

little 

while 

longer.

Happy FIFTH Birthday to my perfect Mitchell boy.