5! 5! 5! 5! 5! Actually...

Actually I have finally actually achieved my boyhood ambition of being 5. Anyway, I ran in to tell Bud and Jof because they won't actually be aware of my new status. After a perfectly normal breakfast of banana, cucumber and tomatoes, actually, and egg on toast I opened my first present - a 36 inch aircraft carrier with 3 jet planes! The JoniBobs actually nipped in on the way to family in the frozen north and it turns out they have one each as well so we'll all have to do some joint naval manoeuvres and war games as soon as we can find someone to play North Korea. Anyway, then we went to the station to pick up Nanna who will stay with us for a couple of days. I have 2 new words that I must fit into every sentence, but sometimes if distracted I get stuck in an actually-anyway loop and forget what I was going to say in the first place.

After lunch Bud and I went off to buy fireworks for New Years' eve, we now have 2 selection packs, a rocket medley and the depth charge that was too big for bonfire night.

THE ROUNDABOUT OF DELIGHT- Tag Team

Then Ben came round and gave me a birthday present of planes. We got out all the planes including the lego one from the JoniBobs (lucky I've got an aircraft carrier) and hootled and roared around the house. Then Pops came round and her present was Hungry Hippo so we did that for a while until a close line call led to a procedural dispute and wildcat strike and the boys went back to planes while Pops had some more birthday cake.
Both Bensparents and Poppysdad took the opportunity to abandon the short ones to go and run errands, which is how it should be. All this activity in the Mungleton drop-in centre for unaccompanied children was a real eye-opener, Nanna's never really seen it like this, she only gets to hear about it.
When it came to going home time Bud and Bensdad had to hold the loudly struggling Ben down in a most unladylike fashion to get his shoes and coat on: Pops stood quietly ready to go, just watching proceedings and learning about the use of hired muscle for when she becomes a mob leader. Ben fought all the way to the door, his Dad had to prise his fingers from the banisters and with a last despairing howl, he was gone.

A bejewelled aircraft carrier. Not something you see every day

Today, being my birthday, it's measuring day (quarterly measurement against the bedroom door) and I've grown 1.8cm in 3 months to 107cm. Still a long way behind Ben but what more can I do.

Birthday bathfizzer night; world record 10 (count them, 10) bath fizzers on top of the end of the Matey bubble bath bottle. At the end, I was so soapy I had to rinse off in the shower. Once dried I declaimed "I am Rex the Strongman" and, using only my head, opened the bathroom door and said goodnight to Nanna in my finest jockey-spots pyjamas. Time of lights out: 2230.