William's 5th Birthday Eve

Tomorrow my little Will turns 5. Wow. The time just doesn't stop! It has been a fun year with him. He is taking his turn being the oldest at home while the 3 older ones are at school. Will loves to hold baby sister, his "Little Princess." He asks to hold her probably more than anyone else. And Will is my snuggler. Boy does he love to snuggle! At least a few times a day he will ask me, in a yearning voice, "Mom, will you snuggle with me?" or "Mom, I want to snuggle with you on the couch." or "Mom, can I snuggle with you when we get home?" And I almost always have to say yes to his cute little puppy eyes and tiny little mouth.

Funny story about my Will: John, Dan and Joe hardly ate any of their Halloween candy. And 3 months after Halloween still had big bags full. Will, on the other hand, devoured his in one go. It was all gone within a few days, literally. So gross. So a few months after Halloween, I came upstairs and found Will and Sam playing (or hiding?) underneath the bunk beds. The "Sammy Spy Spot" as they call it, for whatever reason. I didn't think much of it and was mostly just happy they were playing nicely and being quiet, which can be rare. But I came up later that day to put a few things back under the bed and found a huge pile of candy wrappers. They had climbed up to Joe's stash above the book shelf in their room and had eaten until their little tummies probably couldn't handle anymore. Then I took that pile of wrappers into the bathroom and found another big pile of wrappers in the trash! We're talking king size candy bar wrappers! So gross. I'm surprised no one threw up, honestly. I gave him a scolding and made him tell Joe. But the sneaking of candy continued. I kept finding candy wrappers around and found out he was taking some of Dans too. So finally I had to sit Will down and talk to him about the importance of not stealing what is not yours. Not to mention explaining that candy is not good for your body. And then I threatened him and told him if I caught him eating anyone else's candy without asking, he would not be able to watch any shows or play the iPad for a week. Apparently my threat worked, I have not seen him sneaking candy again. Not even once.

A few things I want to remember about Will: he loves to slide down the rail down our stairs and has become quite efficient at it. He's always sure to wear a long sleeved shirt so he can put his elbows up on the rail and slide down without burning his arms. Then he puts his toes on the wall, sticks his bum out, and down he comes. It's actually quite impressive, none of the other kids can do it quite like him.

Often in the morning Will will say to me, "Mom. I want to whisper something in your ear." I always know what it's going to be. "Can I play the iPad when Sam takes a nap?" I usually let him play for 30 minutes or so in the afternoon while Sam and Ella are napping. And Will never fails to remind me.

Our night time kiss has changed slightly but is still long and must be done correctly... hug, kiss, kiss, hug, kiss, kiss, pop (kiss with lips tucked in), pop, him pop while I do regular kiss, then heads back away slowly while shaking back and forth. It's become somewhat of a ritual. He can't go to bed without it.

Will's favorite pj's is Pete's "Car Shirt" that I sell in our Etsy shop and that the older 3 colored in when they were younger. It's more like a dress on him, but he just loves it. He always wears it backwards so that the map is on the front instead of the back. Oh, and how could I forget to mention the nudity! That kid just loves to be naked. And he loves to spank his bum while jumping up and down to try to make Sam laugh. And it usually works.

Will's favorite game is Mille Bornes. It's a card game that Pete used to play when he was little. His favorite books are probably the Magic Tree House series, we're reading them together right now. I think we're on book #8. Will's favorite breakfast is crepes, he chose to have them for his birthday breakfast in bed. And he wants pepperoni pizza for dinner and a strawberry chocolate cake for dessert.

What a delight it is to be this adventurous, fearless boys mother. Oh, and the snow! He LOVES the snow. Him and John can play in the snow for hours. He loves to shovel, dig, sled, eat, climb, throw, whatever. He's always one of the first ones outside when new snow falls. He tried cross country skiing with me for the first time this year. It was so much fun to watch him, he loved it.

Happy birthday to my sweet Will. May this next year be a great one!!