happy birthday eli!!

elijah turned 5 today. since his brothers have already had their birthdays, he had a very clear idea of what his would be like. he has been taking a mental inventory of every birthday he has attended in recent history. for example, there MUST be a pinata, which he gets to hit first (like jake and emily).

there MUST be a cake with a #5 candle (NOT a #5 cake like spencer's and jake's). at preschool, we needed to take in donuts, not cupcakes, like allison had for her birthday.
he was so funny when we were planning the party. normally, we only do big parties (with friends) on even years. on odd years, we have a small family gathering. however, he was insistent that he would have a birthday party. tonight's celebration was just family, but since allison was there, and there was a pinata, i think it passed muster for him. at least he said he had fun.

the other big deal for him is the arrival tonight of the knot fairy. anyone who has spent any time with eli knows of the sick grey rag, that used to be white, that he takes around with him everywhere. The Knot. it is his security item and he loves it and sucks his thumb with it. a few weeks ago, we looked at the calendar and chose a date on which the knot fairy would come. on this night, he would gather all of his knots and put them in a basket (he has many but carries around the 'favorite knot' most of the time). in exchange for the knots, the knot fairy will bring him a big boy surprise. so tonight, he very excitedly went around the house gathering up all of his knots in a basket and put them on the landing at the top of the stairs. i'll let you know how happy he is about what the knot fairy brings. as for tonight, so far, so good. we'll see what tomorrow brings.

happy birthday to my handsome little man.