Happy Birthday Joshua!

I can't believe he is 5! He is growing up so fast! Let me tell you a little about Joshua. Josh is my funny child. He definitely keeps me guessing. And laughing. He talks loudly and constantly. He is a sweet talker and a charmer. He has adorable little freckles and a dimple, too. He doesn't like to be tickled or kissed (ewe!). He can be a very big help when he chooses to be. He loves his family. He loves his extended family, especially his cousin Alyx and his Grandma Carmae. He loves to color and play games. He absolutely LOVES to be bald! And if you talk to him about it, he will try to convince you to be bald, too! Every time I do someone's hair, he comes in to tell them how amazing they look. He tells me I'm pretty and beautiful on a regular basis-especially when I wear a dress or skirt. Last year on my birthday, Matt asked him what they should get me and his answer was immediate, "a dancing dress!" He was popular with all the kids (and teacher) in his preschool. He is always talking to people everywhere we go and considers everyone to be his friend. Last week at the park he said, "look mom, there's my friend!" I asked what his name was and Josh had no idea. He had just met him. He loves everyone. He reminds me regularly that "We have to love the bad guys and strangers, too". He has energy and enthusiasm that would make anyone smile. He uses the words "sweet" and "oh snap" on a regular basis and I have no idea where he picked these up. Last night, he said "Look Dad, I ate all of my dinner!" and Matt said "Good job, buddy!" And Josh said, "Dad, you could have said you're excellent or you rock!" (insert an extreme amount of enthusiasm!) I love you Josh!
Today for his birthday, he wanted to ride the train to breakfast again, like we did for the girls' birthday. We actually pulled up just as the train was leaving and missed it. We gave him the option of going somewhere else, or waiting the half hour for the next train. He wanted to wait. All morning he had been talking about ordering a scone for breakfast and he was dead set on getting that scone!
We had a party for him on Saturday with my family. It was a lot of fun. He wanted to have a swimming barbeque party. We set up 3 little swimming pools and a slip n slide and had water balloons, while Matt did barbeque duties. Joshua's parties are my favorite of all my kids because I love doing backyard parties! I never really wanted a summer baby, but now I love it! I love that all the kids can just roam and the parents aren't constantly worried about them. We can just sit back and relax and visit, while watching them run and play. It just works for everyone! Anyway, back to the party.
I don't know if anyone noticed, but in my girls' birthday post I didn't mention much about the cake. Well that's because I made it and it was a disaster! And after such a cake nightmare, I have to admit I wanted to buy one for this party. But Carissa inspired me to try again and look what I created!
Yes, it's a snake! And yes, it's the easiest design I could find but let me tell you something, Joshua LOVED it! And he wanted a chocolate cake and a banana cake, so depending on what side of the cake we cut, we could choose our flavors. How's that for fancy? Ha ha.
Anyway, Josh had a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who came!