5 years old

Happy Birthday Brendan!

 

It certainly doesn't seem like five years since Brendan was born- at least not when I'm thinking about his birth and those precious first few days. I remember that all so clearly, of course. But some other periods since then are a little more hazy- sleep deprivation and all that :) But all in all it has been the most amazing five years and watching him grow and change has been such a joy. I really should write more on here about how they are growing up day to day. His creativity is just blowing me away at the moment. And how gentle and caring he is (though not always when it comes to disagreements with his brother) and his curiosity about so many things that interest him ("tell me more mummy") and the way he sometimes loves to stay at home all day and move between drawing, writing, lego building, riding his scooter around the house, dictating stories for me to write, reading "about the world" with the occasional trip outside to check for eggs or water his spinach. This boy is soooo cool.

 The boys and their Daddy killing time at the park before going to see a movie. Turned out the movie wasn't on after all so we went bowling for the first time instead. They had a good time but both lost interest before the game was over, which Steve and I were a bit miffed about as we were enjoying the competition. (I would have won!)

Here's the birthday boy "reading" about the Octonauts to his wee brother while I put the finishing touches on the Octopod cake.

For those who don't know, the Octopod is home to the Octonauts, a team of characters who Explore! Rescue! and Protect! the ocean and its creatures. It's an animated TV adaptation of the Japanese storybooks. There is a caring penguin medic, a polar bear captain, an adventurous pirate cat, a geeky sea-otter scientist, a chilled out and clever bunny engineer, a smart grandfatherly octopus professor and... I think I'm missing someone. Brendan to the rescue- I forgot the photographer- a dog. Oh, and the weird half-tuna-half-cabbage characters who grow the food and cook. Wikipedia says the "subject matter is reminiscent of a blend of Star Trek and Jacques Cousteau" - right up my street! But the creatures they meet are real marine animals so we learn something interesting from each episode. I like it a lot, although having seen each of the 50 or so episodes at least 5 times each means I'll be ready to move on to the next obsession when it reveals itself.

 So here's the cake. He was very happy with it, despite the absence of the characters. Thankfully he didn't notice that until we had eaten half of it. Belle the Cat claimed the bottom left pod as her own by licking off the icing when we weren't looking.