Happy Birthday Coleman!

Happy 5th Birthday to Coleman! I can't believe how fast the years have gone, every day is brighter with Coleman in our lives.

Coleman decided to have a train birthday party (no surprises there!). We had the party on the Saturday before his birthday and Coleman got to decorate his own cake, with a little help from Bud and Rosie. At his party, we ate pizza and played games outside with his cousins and friends. By the time we came inside to paint the crafts, Coleman was exhausted and lay on the couch (he had been sick earlier in the week, and was not fully recovered). Even so, the party was a success and very fun for all!

Sunday was his birthday and Coleman was so excited to open his presents. He got a disappearing mine shaft train piece for his extensive train collection, and an assortment of outdoor and swimming things.

The birthday boy!

Here are a few Coleman facts:

His favorite person is his cousin Brady, only he calls him "my friend Brady". They love to play and are sad when it's time to go. Once as I had to literally pick Coleman up to take him to the car, he yelled, "Brady, grab my foot". They are two peas in a pod! Coleman wants to marry Abby so that Brady will be his brother.

When it's bedtime, I will read books to Coleman but not lay down with him; and Jono won't read books, but will lay down with him. Coleman has figured this out and when we ask him who he wants to put him to bed, he picks me. Then, just as we finish reading books he says that now he wants dad to put him to bed and Jono will lay down with him. He's figured out how to get just what he wants.

On St. Patrick's Day, he threw up in my car on the way home from preschool. That is why there are no pictures from that holiday, Coleman threw up on his Leprechaun hat! A few nights later he threw up in the upstairs hallway, right after eating strawberry fruitsnacks. I have scrubbed and scrubbed the bright red stain, but I'm afraid it will be a permanent reminder of the Oettli era at Grammy and Grandpa's house.

Coleman's Papa Donut died, and he has been having dreams about him. In the dream, Papa Donut is saying, "don't die yet, Coleman." Coleman doesn't seem upset about the dreams, which is good. We have been discussing heaven, a lot, and about how Papa Donut is in heaven with Jesus.

Some of the endless questions that Coleman asks are (in his own funny words), "Why cats don't like water? Why are there no GO signs? Why is Bud the oldest? Why trees have different names?" I try to be the educational mom and answer every question to the best of my ability, but it can be exhausting!

When we say prayers before bedtime, Coleman likes to be very specific about how we word things. Instead of saying, "Bless that we won't have bad dreams" he wants us to say "Bless that we'll have good dreams". It's very, very important to him! Once when it was his turn to pray, he blessed everyone in our family except for Rosie. He explained afterwards, "She's mean to me."

He's very bright, he counted from 1 to 70 for his preschool teacher and knows simple addition problems. He'll say " Plus five plus three is eight and plus four plus four is eight!" He is learning sight words and likes to point them out in the Book of Mormon when we read in the morning. He exclaimed, "The scriptures have sight words too!" He memorized the first two Articles of Faith. Coleman know what colors mix together to make more colors and he loves to play games on the computer. When our Internet was finally restored after two weeks of not working, he played on it for hours, until his eyes were red and glassy and I made him log out.

Coleman's favorite food is any kind of red meat, honey nut cheerios, and pumpkin cookies without the chocolate chips. He dislikes asparagus and tomato soup. He loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Tom and Jerry. His favorite activities are preschool, library class, and Friday playgroup with his cousins.

He is very aware of where we are driving and has a good sense of direction, unlike me. Once as I approached an intersection, I slowed down then drove through. He asked me, "Why did you do that?" I replied that I thought it was a stop sign and was going to stop. He said, "Stop signs are octagons, that was a rectangle." Do you need to be corrected by your five year old as much as I do?

Coleman is such a blessing to our lives and we love him so much; happy 5th birthday Coleman!