Turning 5

Well Valen turns 5 next weekend, and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. When I walked in to the house today, he informed me he was no longer a little boy - he is now a man!
Today he had a birthday party for all the kids from his class - I believe Cristin invited 24 kids - 15 showed up! That is a very large group of 4 to 5 year olds! I of course was the official party photographer. And of course Cristin had everything planned out perfectly. The party was scheduled from 2 to 4 - and at 4 on the dot, it was over!. The theme this year was Scooby Doo, Valen's favorite cartoon of the moment. It turned out great considering how hard it was to find anything with Scooby on it. Cristin used the monsters, etc. in the theme, so she made lots of bats to hang, some ghosts and a small graveyard, and she drew a Scooby by hand for "Feed Scooby a Scooby Snack" (pin the tail on the donkey). The kids all had a great time, of course the best part was the pinata - shaped like a bat. It was stuffed with candy and small toys/trinkets and the kids loved it!
By the time Valen was opening gifts he was starting to get tired and feeling slightly overwhelmed. Considering how all the kids were swarming on him trying to help him open his presents he held it together really well, but as soon as everyone left he went right into his room to play by himself and have some down time. Maybe not quite yet a man after all :)