the sluder family: ben turns 5

on november 16th, my sweet pumpkin, ben, turned 5 years old. we had a cute little family party on his actual birthday, and then ben and a couple of his friends went to jumping junction that saturday and spent the morning jumping their hearts out. *side note: i have just recently realized that ben's birthday is the week before thanksgiving, and graham's is the week after. november and december are busy busy months here at the sluder home. i love it. :)

we aren't ones to go nuts over birthday parties and presents and such. craig and i are trying really hard to teach our boys that life, and especially birthdays and holidays, aren't about "things" but about the time we get to spend with the people we love. because our kids are so blessed to have very involved and awesome grandparents, sometimes it gets tricky in not letting them be spoiled rotten. :) but, we try to compromise the best we can. so far, i think we've done well.

because i spent the summer making so many time consuming cakes, spending time baking on my son's birthday is the last thing i wanted to do, especially for a kid who doesn't even really enjoy cake. seriously. when i am baking and he walks in the house he'll say, "mom! what is that smell??" me: "uhh, chocolate cake, babe." ben: "gross." point being, i prefer to not waste time on something he could care less about. so anyway, i made some plain cupcakes that somehow actually ended up looking like christmas trees, which wasn't at all what i was going for, but he loved them, which is all that mattered. oh, and they tasted absolutely flawless. i make a mean vanilla cupcake.

ben is such a blessing in our lives. it's hard to believe it's already been five years. but at the same time, it's very hard to remember life before him. he brings constant entertainment to our family. somehow i love him more every single day. i can't wait to see the man he will grow up to be. his heart is so big for so many things. i know God has enormous plans for this little guy.

the birthday boy before school.(please note: he's only 5, not 15, contrary to what this picture makes you believe.)