Celebrating things early

Today we are celebrating Benson's 5th birthday! It is not actually until the 27th but I need to make sure we get both of the boys' birthdays in here before we leave (and next weeks the boys will be heading to Utah to spend two weeks with their buddy Steve and Grandma and Grandpa Fox).
So everywhere we have gone today Benson has let everyone know it is his 5th birthday and follows that up by saying, "If you wnt to sing Happy Birthday to me, my name is Benson." So he has been sung to at least 5x today already and he is loving it!
So here are some high lights of our Benson from the last five years....
Since the time he could walk he has been called by most either Dennis the Menace or Mini-McGyver. He is just SO CURIOUS about the world around him and how everything works. He is able to take things apart (i.e. vacuums, cameras, etc) and then put them back together just like they were. There is no use in trying to lock this boy in or out of anything because he will pick the lock in 30 seconds flat... he has even helped me pick the lock on my old car when I locked the keys in it.
Nothing scares him, from the time he could crawl and we would go to the park, he would climb the stairs to the slide and while all the other moms were freaking out that a "baby" might fall off, I was secure in the fact that he was on top of things! From there he graduated to the monkey bars and then the jungle gym... and still the moms freak out at his DARE DEVIL tactics. But to him it is nothing but fun and he knows he can do it! And when it comes to trees there is no tree too high... I find myself having to constantly tell him to PLEASE stay out of the trees, but he assures me every time, "Mommy I can do it better than anyone." Yep he thinks he is soooo good!
He cannot be away from Britton for a long period of time other wise he turns very emotional (sweet, but then I don't get why they are always fighting). He is VERY independent and does not want help with anything - he wants to do it all himself - which is why now he cooks dinner once a week for us... Nothing fancy, but he loves doing it and we eat whatever it is!
And the funniest thing he has said recently is... We were at his cousin's, Aidan's, baptisim yesterday and while we were waiting to go into the baptismal font they were showing pictures of Jesus on the overhead screen. It came to the last picture of Jesus where it is a portrait of him wearing the white robe with the red robe over it and Benson turnes to me and says, "Mom he sure doesn't change his outfit a lot, huh?" OH GOODNESS, my brother Chandler and I were laughighing so hard.
Well I won't have his birthday pics up for a while because all of the cords to transfer photos and video to the computer are all packed up, but I am sure he will have a blast.... His present of choice.... COSTUMES of any kind. My favorite one we got for him is Prince Caspian from Chronicals of Narnia and we went ALL OUT on that costume. I cannot wait for him to open it (along with the others). This will be his last COUSINS birthday (all of the Pearce cousins do a "Cousins' Birthday" on the Sunday of their birthday) and I hope he remembers if for a LONG LONG time.
He truly is an amazing boy whom we love so much! I can honestly say if not for my Benson I would have been on a path that I am sure would have taken me down a road that I would have never been proud of. It is amazing how God knows us so well and even though we don't understand sometimes why things happen, they ARE all for our Benefit and learning. Benson had so much to do with me becoming active in my church again, turning my life around, and truly being the person that my Heavenly Father knew I could be. I am so grateful for him and that it has been five years since God has blessed us with him!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENSON!!!!!! MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE YOU!