Happy 5th Birthday Ben!

Ben: You are a goofball. You so love making people laugh. You'll do anything to get a laugh, even if it means literally flipping over and falling on your face. You love making your baby sister laugh. You are incredibly sweet and loving. 

You like hiding in the house and seeing how quiet you can be. You even invented a game called "Sneaky" where you and Tommy tiptoe around the house and try to sneak past me. I, of course, pretend that I don't hear the thud, thud, thud of your footsteps or the giggles coming from inside the pantry and act so surprised when you jump out and say "Here I am!" 

You don't like us joking with you. You get very angry when we say we're going to the cooked-spinach restaurant when we're really going to your favorite restaurant. You'll say, "Mooooom, I don't like you teasing me like that!". 

Books: Berenstain Bears are your favorite books. You go straight for the BB section at the library every time we go, and will sit for the whole time picking out your maximum allotment of three BB books. You also love anything with action, so I've been letting you get some (selected) comic books from the library. 

Food: Turkey sandwiches are your favorite food. You hate spicy food, or anything that is even remotely spicy, like pepperoni or the mildly seasoned chicken at Chipotle. 

Toys: Your favorite toys for a long time have been weapons. Specifically, you love the Nerf guns you got for Christmas. You love it when I announce it's time for a shootout and we all play Nerf guns together. I have to admit that I really enjoy our Nerf gun shootouts. You've also taken a recent interest in Transformers.

Activities: You really enjoy playing soccer. Since your dad and I are sports-clueless, we've been showing you the little we know and you've taken off with it. You have natural agility and an intuitive sense with how you move your body. We've been saying for a while that we need to get you into sports, and now we're finally doing it. You will be starting soccer in the spring. You don't know it yet, but you'll probably be over-the-moon excited when you find out.

Shows/Movies: You like action-packed, intense movies. Your favorites are How to Train Your Dragon, Robin Hood (old Disney version), and Kung-Fu Panda. 

We love you, Benji! You are such a joy to our family. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of boy you grow into over this next year.