Timo is 5!

Even typing that title makes me get emotional - ! Birthdays are bittersweet around here, and 'bittersweet' fails to capture what I mean. A mixture of excitement about new things to come, thankfulness for the growth that has passed, happiness in celebrating and doing things with/for Timo that he enjoys, and yet always a sadness because we miss Gemma so much on birthdays. Days like these make her presence seem so far away.

In any case, we had a GREAT day celebrating Timo turning 5 on Wednesday, Oct 25th! We started off the day full tilt, with opening cards and a few presents at breakfast, along with jelly donut cupcakes (that still seems sorta breakfasty, right?). Jim had to leave for work but Timo and Mattias then happily played with and shared the new remote controlled fire truck that Nonna had sent. Then it was off to Bible study, where the ladies all sang him happy birthday (much to his embarrassment). On the way home we stopped to get boiled peanuts at the farm stand for lunch. YUM.

breakfast cupcakes and a super excited Mattias (there was a Chewbacca sticker on the banana)

In the 'new' soccer shirt from Mila and Lithemba

Later in the afternoon we took a walk/bike ride and enjoyed the cool fall weather. I love seeing how well Timo is riding his bike these days, and he is very aware and safe in the town; he stops at the end of every block and waits until I catch up with the stroller.

caught a spider in the new microscope jar from Jaja!

For supper we surprised Timo and got pizza from a nearby restaurant that he has been asking to go to (the place where Jaja took the boys for pizza this past spring). And thank you to Nonna for sending the gift card to the restaurant, which arrived the day before and was perfect timing so we could get pizza and our favorite kale salad for a birthday supper! Then it was a couple more presents before bedtime, including a huge construction book from Nonna. He has hardly let that book out of his sight since! And has spent numerous hours reading it and doing sound effects, his current specialty.

Hawk thinks he's going to get a bite...

Birthday Questions, a selection

What is your favorite toy? remote controlled fire truck (that Nonna just gave him for his birthday!)
What is your favorite food? cupcakes (...grins)
What do you like to play with Mattias? playing cars
What do you like to play with baby Hawk? I like to kiss him. Well, that's not playing...
What is your favorite place in Sylva? I like going to the Woodys' house.
What is your favorite trail? Waterrock Knob [on the Blue Ridge Parkway]. I like the view on the mountains. And I like all the rocks we can climb on, too.
What your favorite books? library books. And amazing book of dinosaurs; rhyme book [poems]; Tintin

the other two brothers, off for our late afternoon walk