All Rise. Court is now in session with Judge Jaeger presiding and prosecuting.

Calling the case of the People of the State of Wisconsin vs. Genesee Jaydeigh Goodenough.

Opening Statement:
April 26th marked 21 months of sharing my toys and my spotlight with my little sister, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, I could do without the sharing part, but Genesee made us a party of 4 and I love a good party. Plus, she gets cuter every day and I can hardly stand it.

But cuteness only takes you so far in life. Consequently, I’ve started collecting evidence to determine if she’s worthy of that bedroom I was evicted from.

Fact-Finding:
First, I observed Genesee’s every move and became slightly concerned by her obsession with Dad. Hence, the stalking allegations on her record.

Then, I noticed Genesee started following me, too. And although I found this behavior to be somewhat unwanted and annoying, mom assured me that I’ll think it’s cool someday.

Over time, my observations of Genesee pointed to signs of change, growth, improvement, and increased intelligence, like you’ll see in Exhibit A (below):

Genesee is starting to like mom a little bit!

Let me also present to you, Exhibit B:

Genesee has started brushing her own sweet tooth!

And of course, there’s Exhibit P:

Genesee attempted to pee in the toilet….

…and on April 23, she successfully pooped in the toilet, like a champ (or like a normal human being).

Closing Argument:
In conclusion, I’d like to present this final piece of evidence (video documentation below) that proves Genesee is no longer the innocent baby we once knew. In fact, somewhere between all the changing and growing, we found her guilty of filling our house with laughter:

However, while guilty on one count, we do adore our cutesy-wootsy-but-sometimes-whiney chocolate-milk-drinking, door-closing, bathwater-listening, always-snacking, dad-shadowing, arm-crossing, nature-loving lady and so I hereby release the defendant to continue living her best life so that the world can enjoy her goofy contributions to society.

Genesee: Please do not make me regret this verdict. Instead, go forth and do good in the world by continuing to make us all proud.

Case closed. This court is adjourned.

Easter wasn’t just Easter. It was also the 3rd installment of my birthday celebration series. Because turning 5 requires a Pre-Party, an Official Party, and an After Party Eggstravaganza.

Before kicking off Easter weekend, the Easter Bunny visited us at school! One of us was grateful…

…the other one was traumatized.

Luckily, for Genesee’s sake, there were no run-ins with the Easter Bunny at home, but there was evidence that he visited!

After inspecting Easter baskets and enjoying the contents for breakfast, we moved the celebration to the Nicolai’s house for the After Party Eggstravaganza.

Based on the above smiles, snuggles, happy bellies, and full hearts, it is my recommendation that we continue the three-pronged approach to commemorate all birthdays from this day forward.

Chuck E. Cheese was just the pre-party, of course, because my actual birthday was April 16th. That’s the day I officially became a 5-year-old, so we sealed the deal with cupcakes at school, a dino-mite birthday cake at Grandma’s kitchen, and a much-anticipated gift opening session before bed.

If you’re looking for me anytime soon, I’ll likely be playing my new Nintendo Switch game system (thanks parents and Nicolais), modeling & test-running my sweet new Pumas (thanks, Kari!), scrolling the Amazon site with my loaded gift card (thanks, Papa!), or flying my new kite and enjoying the outdoors on my new tree swing (thanks, Grandma & Grandpa)!

If you’re wondering what 5-years-old looks like on me, I’m the cute little guy with newly-surfaced freckles, a skill for translating my sister’s jibberish, a sudden fear of “bad guys,” and a need to confirm the doors are locked every night. I also have a wiggly tooth, a bike with no training wheels (that I have yet to master), a newfound love for the TV show Wild Kratts, a well-developed talent for snapping, and a constant urge to run throughout the house naked.

To be five is to be alive; watch me live this year up!

Ain’t no party like a Chuck E Cheese party, so I gathered all of my favorite 4k friends and headed to the big city and bright lights to celebrate turning 5, and IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE! …Somewhat because that was my chosen party theme (Incredibles 2), but mostly because nothing says incredible like 800 hard-earned tickets, 270 calories of cotton candy, 120 minutes of non-stop fun, 60 seconds in the Ticket Blaster, 50+ arcade games/rides, 10 birthday gifts, 3 helium balloons, 2 pieces of cheesy pizza, and one candlelit-buttercream-frosted cupcake with a Grandma/Grandpa-provided ice cream scoop!

Thanks for helping me ring in year 5, Ireland, Lila, Quinn, Maddox, Vivian, Sonia, Julian, Violet, and little Noah!