It as about 3.2 milliseconds ago that my little Soren turned 5. Last year he conned us into a big Tour de France themed party for his fifth birthday with all his friends and new preschool buddies. I was 35 weeks pregnant at the time, and not so keen on a big party…… but 5 is a milestone that needs to be celebrated! It seemed not very long since his big sister, Astrid, turned 5. My first half decade of parenting, survived it was pretty amazing to get to that magical 5 mark.
All of sudden my little Soren, who was a wee baby not that long ago was half a decade old and about to embark on the new adventures of primary school and being a big brother.
It’s been another big year for the Soren-o-saurus, but more about that soon. First up the birthday celebrations for the now six year-old Soren. Despite his best efforts to convince us (yet again) on a party, he was most definitely having a more low-key effort this year. We settled on a visit to Questacon with his friend Christopher, lunch with family at The Dumpling House and a gelato cake for afternoon tea with family and a few friends to help consume the calories. Of course there were plenty of presents too!
The big 6th birthday…..
The morning of his birthday started with presents from Mum, Dad, Astrid and Zinnia. A lover of building things, dinosaurs and asking questions, the air-powered car, space rail, dino fossil kit and ‘thing explainer’ book were all huge hits. There were also a few new ‘dinner shirts’ for my junior fashion plate!
Zinnia discovered that paper and boxes are fun! She was getting in some early practice for her up-coming birthday………
Then it was time for breakfast….. It’s always the birthday person’s choice. Soren chose hagelslag, the Dutch chocolate sprinkles on bread. We should stop taking them interesting places as it inspires endless obsessions with food and treats!
After a very healthy breakfast of hagelslag (which incidentally Zinnia was not permitted any of much to her disgust) it was time for Astrid and Soren to get dressed and head off to Questacon with Anto to meet Soren’s friend, Christopher. Turning 6 gave Soren additional wardrobe options but no less reason to be crazy. A fan of crazy hairstyles, he requested Astrid style some ‘triceratops horns’ for him! Zinnia was slightly perplexed by the sugar filled crazy, but happy to let her older siblings escape while she stayed home with me for her morning nap.
Apparently a fun time was had by all with 2.5 hours of Questacon exploring, experiments and hot chocolates in the members lounge! Soon, Zinnia was up from her nap and it was time to head to a lunch of Chinese food and dumplings with the grandparents and aunts and uncles. Plenty of food was consumed and everyone was happy…. except a teething Zinnia who decided that food was good but there were just too many people and too much noise.
While we didn’t get any photos of Questacon or lunch, we did make it back to our place in time for Soren to score more presents from the rellies. Grandma and Grandpa’s recent Scottish trip resulted in a very Scottish themed present array (which was handy as Soren adores his kilt). Mum is not so keen on his new bagpipes though! He also scored more science experiments from Granny and more circuits from his Uncle Mikl………
Soon it was time to light the sparkler on his hand-crafted gelato cake. We spent quite a few hours devising different layers and flavours for the gelato cake, and mixing in delicious treats like clinkers and oreos, before coating it in chocolate!
The cake was decorated with oreos and lollipops – apparently to replicate a flying saucer, according to Soren. It did look pretty cool and tasted rather delicious…….
Zinnia, who was ropable all day due to a very sore mouth, thoroughly enjoyed her gelato cake…..and scored way too much as it was the only time all day I didn’t have to hold her!
Soren rounded out both the last day of school holidays and his birthday playing with his presents and hanging out with his family. He was pretty excited to be 6. What a cute trio of kids they make when they are playing together!
The year of being 5…….
I’m pretty sure Soren is getting crazier by the year. He is an awesome big and little brother. He adores his little Zinnia and secretly his big sister Astrid too, even if they fight constantly!
He spends all his time asking questions – his favourite saying currently is “I just have one more question”…… spoiler alert, it’s never just 1 more! He often also says ‘I have a plan’….. There are a lot of plans, most of them are not great for Mum and Dad.
Everything in our house is always being pulled to bits to ‘see how it works’ and if you can build it he can dismantle it and build it ‘better’. He is often found asleep with most of his circuit kit in his bed as it’s important to build circuits in the middle of the night. He loves to ride his bike and go on long hikes where his obsession with fossils has turned into a desire to collect animal bones he finds in the bush. Mean Mum won’t let him keep them in his bedroom so they have to live outside in a large tub where he plans to use them to build a ‘frankenanimal’ very soon……
Still only knows one speed, flat out! He is often injured as he won’t slow down for anyone but luckily he still bounces, although he is always regrowing some part of his skin after donating it to the pavement or our floor.
The year of being 5 was very different some of our previous years. A lot less travel (although still plenty) and a brand new sibling to love and dote on.
The first month of being 5 was the last month of being the baby of the family…
The year of being 5 started with non-stop weekend adventures squeezed in before the arrival of his new sibling. First there was the emergency services open day where Soren got to see all his favourite things like fire engines, rescue vehicles and helicopters and even take a flight in a helicopter!
Then there was operation kiddyhawk where he got to traipse through mud and over obstacles, along with Astrid and other school friends……
Big brother time…..
Pretty soon, it was exactly a month since he turned 5 and it was time for me to head to the hospital for the arrival of his new brother or sister. Both Astrid and Soren had been beyond excited for months …..and when the day arrived, they couldn’t sleep with excitement.
Luckily for them (and the grandparents who were containing the excitement) their much longed for sister arrived just before school pick up time, and they got to come and visit when she was a mere 2 hours old.
Soren immediately adored Zinnia and loved to help out with feeds, baths and most importantly cuddles!
Soren took his big brother role pretty seriously, and was amazing with Zinnia from the word go. They shave adored each other from day 1……..
The final term of preschool….
The last few weeks of school flew by in a sleep deprived haze as we settled in with a new member of the family. There were school concerts and water fun days, and then the final day of school (and preschool for Soren) was upon us.
The preschool year always seems to fly by, but we were well and truly ready for the holidays and some down time!
Christmas…..
It was Christmas and Zinnia was 6 weeks old. She was oblivious to all the fuss, but Soren and Astrid had a wonderful time, with food, presents and family.
Christmas is pretty special when you are 5!
Summer holidays……
The Summer holidays were upon us and the long hot days were spent playing and going on adventures with friends. The days felt particularly long for us sleep-deprived adults as Miss Zinnia did not like to sleep for long (day or night) so adventures were close to home but cuddles and smiles from Zinnia were plentiful.
There was a camping adventure with Dad and Grandma for Soren and Astrid, with hikes and danger (and plenty of late night wandering up mountains in the heat)…….
There was also rock climbing, Questacon and plenty of time to chill in the air conditioning!
Kindergarten……
It was February and Soren was off to his first day at Kindy, a big primary school kid at last!
The first term of school…..
The first term of school was hot, long and full of one very tired Soren and some tired parents. Anto had overseas travel for work, Zinnia was only a few months old and there were a few testing times. Luckily we all settled in OK and Granny was on hand to help when Dad was away……
Canberra in March is a wonderful place. We had a couple of failed attempts at seeing the balloons take off at the balloon festival (with some uncooperative weather) but the kids got a visit to Enlighten in, which is always a fun outing (even with a little bub)!
Soren might be a mischief maker but he does love playing with his little sister and coming into our bed for morning cuddles. I even scored breakfast in bed for my birthday. He scrubs up pretty well too, he does love his ‘dinner shirts’ and bow ties……..
The end of first term brought ‘crazy hair day’. Soren is happy to have crazy hair any day, so was happy to comply!
Easter holidays
Before we knew it, Easter holidays had come around. Zinnia’s favourite activity is Jolly Jumping, but it’s best with your brother playing with you. We had stupidly bought Soren a book about bone collecting and it was his new favourite resource, sparking a new obsession for collecting animal bones.
The Easter holidays bought another camping trip with Dad and Grandma. Mum again stayed home with Zinnia. This time they managed to complete the hike of Mt Coree in daylight!
Soren was exactly 5 and half years old when Zinnia turned 5 months. A cute pair of bunnies they are!
Zinnia was not all that into Easter, but her brother and sister did not miss an opportunity to dress her up as a bunny. They weren’t keen on sharing their chocolate though……
As the weather started to cool, Soren was still growing some impressive sunflowers and happy to help out with his little sister!
Canberra is pretty awesome in Autumn and Soren is not one to miss an opportunity to throw some leaves around!
Second term of school…..
School was back, we were all a little less tired but no less fun was being had. Mother’s day, meant presents and breakfast for Mum, and lunches out for the Grandma’s birthdays.
Soren still love’s Puffins, so imagine his delight when some impromptu face painting at Grandma and Granny’s birthday lunch resulted in him turning into a puffin!
Finally he got his very first merit award. There will be many more assemblies in my future, but he was pretty proud of his efforts……
Meanwhile the weather was cooling down but that didn’t stop the collecting of animal bones and the plans to clean and keep them (thankfully outside). Soren’s sunflower were still going strong, despite it now technically being Winter!
Vanuatu adventures …….
Speaking of Winter, we had a plan to escape Canberra Winter for a short break with a quick June trip to Vanuatu. Soren had been itching for another overseas trip, it had been 14 months since we’d last ventured overseas. Vanuatu was the first overseas trip for the littlest member of the family but Soren and Astrid are now seasoned travellers and packed plenty of fun into our 8 days……..
It was their first time snorkelling and it was a hit, along with the usual favourites of swimming and kayaking!
Soren was in heaven with endless beach time for sandcastles, running and playing with his sisters……..
Bye bye baby teeth…..
Back to a Canberra Winter and it was bye bye to that beautiful smile and hello gappy grin! Both wobbly bottom teeth fell out within 12 hours of each other (with some assistance from Soren) and he had beaten his littlest sister in the teeth race, she was yet to grow the very teeth he had just lost!
He was pretty proud of his new ‘modified’ grin!
Winter holidays……
The Winter holidays meant another camping trip with Grandma and Dad. This time down the coast and a climb up the challenging Pigeon House mountain. Mum and Zinnia stayed home. Mum was pleased they returned in one piece, Zinnia was not impressed that her playmates disappeared for a couple of days!
The rest of the holidays were a quiet affair, well as quiet as a bunch of crazy kids can be. There was dress ups, Questacon visits and a visit to the ‘snow’ at Corin Forest. It did inspire us to get onto booking another European Winter trip where there is plenty of snow for sledding loving Soren…..
Term 3 of school…..
The start of third term meant 100 days of Kindy was done and dusted. Soren had to dress up as a 100 year-old. I’m hoping I look that good at 100!
The days were still cold but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the sunshine and running with the alpacas. Not every kid gets to grow up with such cute furry pets!
Soon it was that time of year again when parents need extra wine, bookweek! Soren out did himself with his request to go as the main character from ‘Don’t Open This Book’. Cute he was, but our shower hasn’t recovered……….
Yep and another award, accompanied by more grins!
We celebrated the start of Spring with a visit to the Deep Space Tracking Centre and Tidbinbilla. Space-obsessed Soren had a ball!
Spring school holiday sunshine……
It was the Spring school holidays and the weather was warming up. Mum keeps banishing them all outside to eat (mostly so she doesn’t have to mop the floor as often).
The warmer weather means more playtime outside and Soren and Astrid discovered that Zinnia loves bubbles. It’s cheap and easy entertainment that results in 3 happy kids.
The holidays meant rock climbing, shopping and movies but finished off with a few days away down the South coast at Mollymook. The weather didn’t cooperate, but beach loving Soren had a ball, despite it being 16 degrees with 40km/h winds.
Sand, waves, hikes and endless fish and chips are enough to keep the almost 6 year old more than happy!
There it is, the year that was! We actually packed a lot of fun and adventure into the ‘year of being 5’. The selection of photos certainly demonstrates how much we got up to , without even trying and without any monumental trips this year! I also couldn’t believe how much Soren has grown and changed over the year. He is definitely looking more grown up and has turned into a big kid now. A big, crazy, cuddly, loud and talkative kid but he does like to keep us on our toes!
I’m sure a six-year old Soren will have plenty of adventure in store for us, if his ‘plans’ are anything to go by………