Bradley is 5

It's official, I am now a full fledged mom of elementary school boys. No more baby. No more toddler. No more preschooler. My baby is now 5. Bradley is the one who makes our family complete. He plays the youngest roll pretty perfectly. He is very independent and can roll with most anything or adventure we do. He doesn't worry much about anything which definitely has it's pros and cons! He is fearless and not afraid to push the limits on some things. In other words, he's my child who is not afraid to wander off! I am ashamed to say that there have been more then a few panicked "where's Bradley?" uttered from my mouth. Even though he is independent, he is very social and makes a new friend almost every where he goes. Be nice to Bradley and he'll be nice to you. But don't you dare try to mess with him or he will step to you no matter what age you are! I've seen him tell a 9 year old boy to give him his ball back. He loves animals (baby animals in particular) and he loves pretending he is a baby animal. He tells me to pretend that I got an egg and that he is a baby animal hatching from it. He also loves making people laugh which is a point of contention for me as potty talk is very funny to other little boys. He will many times risk the punishment if it means he gets the laugh. The older he gets the more I can tell that Bradley does want approval. He sometimes gets pegged as the trouble-maker. Being the youngest, it's hard to compete with two older brothers that are better at everything (because of age of course - this boy has all the smarts and ability his older brothers have). But he gets very emotional when he feels like we are upset with him. He will say things like, "It's just because I can't make good choices." But he is a good boy. In fact he is well loved by all his teachers - preschool, sunday school. There is something dynamic about Bradley and I always get "He is so cute!" from adults and even kids! And I know it's not just his adorable face. It's his hilarious delivery in every word he says and the way he says it. So yes, the boy is known for his meltdowns, but he also brings so much laughter and entertainment to our family. We all love having him along for our family journey and that's why I feel like this little boy truly completes our family!

A few days before his birthday we celebrated him up at Chance's parents. Classic Brad making everyone laugh.

He was up bright and early (before 7am) to open up gifts on his birthday

Then we headed to the zoo to start his family fun day. 

 Lunch in the field!

We went to the Snohomish Aquatic Center after that. The boys had a blast. Luke and Nate got to try boogie boarding on the Flow Rider and I tried surfing. I did not succeed, but I tried! Then we grabbed  pizza and the movie "Sing" and went back home for a movie night. Happy Birthday to my big 5 year old! You will forever be my little buddy. :)