Birthday Party Fun

Jersey #3 enjoyed his birthday celebration. It was a full day of fun that started a little too early in the morning. He was up, dressed, and ready to open his presents, well before anyone else in the family was awake.

His favorite gift: Super Mario Brothers (a game for the Wii)

I finally managed to buy the right game. He had asked for this one for Christmas. I bought the wrong one. To my defense, as he described his desired gift to me, he told me he wanted the same game that he played at his cousin's house the previous summer. It turns out that his cousin has more than one Mario game for the Wii. I guessed (and bought) the wrong one for Christmas. My sister helped me find the right one....on sale too....in plenty of time for his birthday. It has been hiding in my sock drawer for months. It was at the top of the list of his desired birthday gifts, so I was glad to already have it on hand. He was so excited about this gift that he wanted to play the Wii for the rest of the day.

He did change his mind when Granny & PawPaw arrived, because they came with a whole bunch of birthday and Easter gifts. They got him a Spiderman skateboard for his birthday...

I have a feeling we might be visiting the ER this summer...

We planned for a birthday party at our house in the afternoon. I rented a jumper/bounce house. Those things are the best for keeping crowds of kids busy and entertained during a party. It wears them out real good. The company we rent from gives a repeat customer discount. We get to enjoy the jumper for a few extra hours, at the same price. I like having the jumper set up a couple hours before the party, so our kids can enjoy it privately. Plus, we have it a couple hours after the party, so lingering family and friends and enjoy it with us, after the crowd goes home.

I've looked into the cost of buying one, since we have plenty of kids with birthday parties. The initial cost, along with care and upkeep did not entice me as much. Renting it for an afternoon is so much easier.

PawPaw delighted his grandbabies by climbing into the jumper with them. They jumped circles around him.

The jumper was a hit during the party too...

We attempted a Mario Brothers pinata too. These days, pinatas come with strings, so kids can enjoy a non-violent version. We decided to hang it by a string and hit it with a bat instead. Unfortunately, the pinata fell and hit the ground before anyone had a turn, and the door that held the candy popped open. We tried to adjust it to allow for some hitting, but that didn't last long. There was a long line of children, and only a small handful got a turn to whack before all the candy fell out. Oops.

During cake time, I reminded the kids to not put their fingers into the frosting on the cake. Then, as I was lifting it out of the box, I smashed my finger in it. No one seemed to care. We sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday boy, then enjoyed some cake and ice cream.

The birthday boy was excited to open gifts. He received some really nice gifts. His friends are generous. Most things involved super heroes, video games, or sports. That is just what he likes.

Through the years, we have held many back-yard BBQ-style birthday parties. This one was really nice. Part of the enjoyment came from us cleaning up the house and yard weeks ago, so there was not as much work to be done. Part of it was that Jersey #3 was branching out and making friends. He invited friends from church, from AWANA, and from our homeschool co-op. It was a nice group of people, and certainly many more boys in one area than I am used to.

Plus, the party included a visit from Granny & PawPaw, Nana, Aunt V, and 4 cousins. Our younger 4 children got to enjoy a little extra time with their cousins when the official birthday party time was over.

Aunt V & I took Jersey #1 to the Pediatric Urgent Care, where we learned that she had a raging case of strep throat. That certainly explains why she was complaining of her throat being sore, and wasn't feeling up to most of the party activities. After the visit with the doctor, we went all over town looking for a 24 hour pharmacy. That was an adventure. We were so exhausted. I am also hoping that we did not send anyone home with strep throat in addition to their goody bag.

Back at home, Jersey #3 jumped in the bathtub with his cousins and then put on his new Mario PJs. I thought for sure he would fall asleep the moment his cousins left. Nope. He attempted to stay up half the night, playing his new Wii game.

The Referee had to help him relax and fall asleep, by rocking him in the recliner. It only took a few minutes, and The Referee was rocked to sleep! LOL!