Jeremiah is 5!

Hard to believe we have a certified BIG KID in our house now! Jeremiah turned 5 on February 18th! 

Let's take a little trip down memory lane, shall we?

5 years ago we brought this precious baby boy home from Mercy hospital.

My heart just squeezes when I look at his sweet little face!

It's funny because we thought HE had a lot of hair at birth! Ha! He has nothing compared to Hope!
 

J at 3 months. Enough with the kisses, Mommy!

J at about 4 months, which is about how old Hope is now. I definitely see similarities! Here is a pic of Hope for comparison:

 Oh the cheeks on both of them!

Almost 6 months!

8ish months, train lover!

1 year! This is when he went through what I like to call his "Orange Period." (Aka: We fed him too much squash and sweet potatoes and not enough beans and peas, so his skin turned an orangey color! Oops. Hopefully we learned from that mistake.)

1st birthday!! 

17 months

18 months, looking so much like Daddy!

Birthday #2!

3!

3 and a half, and a major stud!

4th birthday! I remember taking this pic last year- it was in the midst of our craziness when Adam was in MI, J and I were in Iowa. This pic was taken at an ungodly early hour before I had to bring him to daycare and head off to school. He was less than pleased with me! But he did humor me with half a smile. :) And he at least still had somewhat of a baby face, yet. Now he looks so grown up!

I guess that's what happens when you turn 5!

J had kind of a low key birthday. He was supposed to have preschool and a trip to the fire station and police station. Major bummer when we woke up to another snow day! So he had to settle for going to Meijer with Mommy and picking out his birthday balloons, and then once Daddy got home from work we could finally do presents! We also Facetimed with Grandma and Grandpa Wiers while we did presents. I have 0 pics of present opening! :(

J's dinner request was to go to "The Panda" (Panda Express). This boy loves him some orange chicken!

Then we headed home to sing "Happy Birthday" and have some cake!

What a handsome boy! And there's Lego snowplow, one of his favorite gifts. :)

After we sang we told him to blow out his candle and he almost did, then said, "Wait, I have to make a wish!" So he thought a good long while, then blew out his candle. I wonder what he wished for?!?

After cake and talking to G & G Wissink on the phone, he had some time to play with his new toys. The Hot Wheels track is a hit with both J and Hope!

The b-day celebrating will continue into the next week, too. Monday he gets to be Star Helper at school AND go to the police station and fire station AND hand out his birthday treats (it's one of his favorite candies- "Starburts" as he calls them)! And J has been wanting to go bowling for his b-day, too, so we are planning to do that next weekend when G & G Wiers come to visit. Turning 5 deserves lots of celebrating!

We are so proud of our big boy! He has had some major transitions in his life in the past year, and really has done so well with it all (with the occasional speedbump, of course). He has taken so well to being a big brother, and is really loving interacting with Hope. She adores him and loves to watch whatever he does (see above)! HERE IS A VIDEO of J being a great big bro and playing with Hope. Both of their giggles melt my heart! 

J is also very willing to help with Hope- he helps to wash her back and hair at bath time. And he likes to comb her hair, too. He isn't too keen on diaper changes, and tends to gag at poopy diapers. So, obviously he isn't going to be much help there! :) I just love how Hope looks up to J, and always has a smile for him!

We are looking forward to all that God has in store for J this year- including starting Kindergarten in the Fall! I am SO not ready for that (which is probably why I have done nothing about registering him yet). 

We are so proud of our smart, excited, sweet, kind, happy, loving, funny 5 year old boy. We love you, Jeremiah!!