Two birthdays right in a row makes for some busy, but fun weeks. We pretty much spoiled the kids this year. Last year they didn't get parties with friends, just a family day filled with fun. This year we let them do both...and they got a bit spoiled with presents. The truth is, we didn't spend any more money (actually maybe less). They just got smaller parties and presents, but it seemed bigger by the time all was said and done.
Dylan woke up to fun party decorations the Birthday Bear set up the night before. He decided he wanted waffles for his birthday so we had smiley face waffles. We went up to my sister's for haircuts and then took Dylan out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant we all love. My sister and her kids joined us with made it even more special for Dylan. I took the younger kids home while Marcos took Dylan to see Star Wars episode 1 in 3D. That afternoon. he opened his many presents (most Star Wars or Ninjago related...and some cool binoculars for his bird watching). Marcos and I had a class to go to that night so we got our darling neighbor (one of my former Beehives) to come babysit. Dylan's birthday happens to fall on Dr. Seuss' birthday so cute thing that she is she came prepared with all things Dr. Seuss. She brought marshmallows dipped in white chocolate that looked like hats from Cat in the Hat and brought The Cat in the Hat to read and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to read with a handful of sweedish fish for each kid to eat during the story. How cool is that? You should all be so lucky to have an amazing babysitter like Kylee! He got to wrap up the night with a movie of his choice, which I believe was Spookie Buddies (one of the Buddy movies...you know, the dogs). Anyway, pretty awesome day!
The next day was his friend party. We kept it simple. Pizza, a playdate, presents and cupcakes. Cheap and fun. I tried to throw in a couple games when the sword fighting and wrestling seemed beyond my capabilities to endure as a mother, but they soon decided that the human pretzel was not their cup of tea and changed to a round of duck, duck, goose. Who knew? Basically they knew what they wanted to do and required very little supervision or direction. I love that about Dylan! He is a natural leader and full of creativity and imagination. He can lead a group of kids without any trouble at all. One of my favorite things was watching his friends. He really has chosen great kids as his playmates. They all cleared their plates after eating, thanked me for the food and party and were darling with the younger kids. I looked over during presents and Kelby (Dylan's buddy) was playing with Marissa. She was sitting on his lap throwing herself back. He would pull her up again and she would giggle and giggle. I love that! Skills we are trying very hard to instill in our own children.
He was spoiled once again by his party guests. Lucky little man! Hope he realizes not all birthdays are going to be this amazing! ;)
Preston decided early on he wanted to go to the Dinosaur Park. Score! My Ogden Nature Center pass gets us in there for free. I love those multi-use passes. That one has been totally worth the money. It was preschool that day so we spent the morning at the dinosaur park, grabbed a corn dog on our way out, and dropped him off at preschool. Since his birthday comes right before St. Patrick's Day, they did a leprechaun treasure hunt that day. I'm sure he thought it was all for him! ;) He wore his Toys R Us crown I picked up for him all day and was given another birthday crown at school. What a lucky kid! He had 10 gifts from us! When I was wrapping them, I thought I'd seriously overdone it until I recapped. He's obsessed with Cars 2 and still a huge fan of Toy Story. So he's easy to shop for. Basically he got 10 small gifts all with Cars or Toy Story stuff on them and was thrilled. Most of them were educational or for church too. Bonus! Stuff like colored pencils with Toy Story characters on them, Cars 2 sticker/coloring books, and he got one actual toy...a cool Mater truck.
His friend party was also on the day after his birthday. We had all things Cars for decorations and the Birthday Bear threw in a Toy Story banner for good measure. The kids enjoyed their pizza and then headed outside to play. Milli (Preston's cousin) was jumping on the tramp with Kylie (another cousin) and hurt her leg. I think it ended up being a pulled muscle or sprain of some sort. Poor girl! Kind of ruined the party for her. We turned on a movie to take her mind off it and opened presents next to her on the couch. It helped a bit, but she was still in quite a bit of pain.
The kids LOVED the bubbles I picked up at the dollar store. Two bucks got everyone a thing of bubbles that they played with forever! We headed in for a Cars 2 cupcake and turned on Cars 2 to watch as we were waiting for moms to pick the kids up from the party. Other than Milli's hurt leg, it was a great party. Super cheap, super easy and totally fun. Preston's favorite people were there. His two buddies from church, Gabe and Owen, and two of his cousins, Milli and Kylie. He also adores his cousins Kenya and Tanner, but Kenya couldn't make it and Tanner lives in Idaho. But it really was perfect! Unlike Dylan who had to narrow down his list of 50 people he wanted to invite, Preston plays with the same people all the time so it was easy to figure out who to invite. Gotta love this kid! It was the first friend party he's ever had and he was so excited! I'm glad we went ahead and did a party for him this year. It was lots of fun for everyone!
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