Ways to identify that your 5 year old is tired.

And by tired, I mean seriously tired. Like, not "Oh, I think I could take a nap." No, more like "if I stop moving and making loud sudden noises, I will fall on my face from exhaustion." That kind of tired.

Griffin (hang with me - I know he's not yet five.) has had a tough transition to dairy things. It's taken months of trying incrementally introduce various dairy products, all in hopes of transitioning him from formula to milk. So, tonight when I changed his very stinky diaper, I was expecting the usual scene: a pretty loose, gooey poo.

(Oh, yeah, by the way: this is full on mom-mode. So... delayed heads up about the up close and personal details of this post. But, again, hang with me.)

Imagine my delight when I saw a solid, big-kid style poo in his diaper! In total shock and excitement (yes, friends, excitement about poop. I'm owning this moment. Welcome to parenthood.) I hollered for Greg to come check out the new and improved (as if Griff really could be new and improved - he's so darned cute as it is, but I digress!) Griffin accomplishment.

And - this is important - Greg was equally excited.

So, of course, Nate and Brooke were intrigued by the excitement, too.

And they came running.

But to their dismay - okay, really just Nate's dismay - I had already rolled up the diaper and headed for the trashcan. (Didn't I mention how stinky it was?!?!)

Nate was just shattered. Totally burst into tears, and was on the verge of inconsolable. He just really wanted to see Griffin's poo.

It really was all we could so to not laugh. Really? You were that interested in seeing Griff's poo? How many times a day do we change it and it's not even a blip on your radar? And tonight - you really needed to see the poop?

This is, friends, how we confirmed what we already knew: Nate had gone past the point of exhaustion into the deep woods of delirium.

The alternative view is this: he, too, was so proud of his little brother. And that's endearing, right? He just wants to share in the joy of celebrating for his little brother. It's adorable. Right?

Yes, the bond already runs deep between these two. And, going forward - be warned if there is any shi... I mean, poo that comes between them.