11.16.2008

Andrew's 5th Birthday Party

If you were waiting for this post yesterday (it's okay to admit it), I'm so sorry. It had been a marathon few days, and my age is starting to catch up with me.

This is Birthday-Girl Amanda getting her Donald Duck balloon sculpture.


The kids were in rapt attention throughout the 40-minute balloon/magic show session. Lucky the Clown did an amazing job, and he far exceeded my expectations!

The cupcake decorating table was a big hit with the parents AND the kids!


We tried to organize games for the kids, but they pretty much took off on the trikes and had a blast. As far as I know, no one got hurt (hooray!)



Andrew sporting his tattoo (Spiderman riding a motorcycle). And I quote "this was the best birthday ever!"


Unfortunately there's not enough Blogger space to show you all the great pictures. The book exchange was very well received, the kids all got lots of balloon animals, and we collected a full laundry basket of nonperishables for the food pantry. The party actually went longer than we expected, no one was more shocked than I to look at the clock and see we were already past 3:30! And Jeanne Gilbert, the enrichment coordinator at Riverside MR/DD, was a lifesaver, knowing most of the kids and instictively filling in where needed. So, if you're in Troy and looking for a winter venue for your birthday party, please keep Riverside (and Lucky the Clown) in mind. You don't have to go to McD's Playland...
And a personal reflection - I was always brought up to believe that birthday parties were to be certain things - bakery cakes, lots of presents, generally expensive and, in the end, unfulfilling. I want to thank Christine, Amanda's mom, for pointing me in a different direction. I have absolutely no regrets about the way this party went, from the homemade cupcakes to the newspaper-wrapped books for the book exchange. The kids don't care about these things. They're really just there to have fun. And, from the looks of things, there was plenty of that to go around.

3 comments:

  1. seems fun. Good to see andrew also enjoying along with others. :) How are you feeling now?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow what an impressive party! Wish I had you as a mom when I was a kid (j/k). Hopefully an old friend will be kind enough to clip it and send the wedding announcement to me considering me or my family no longer live there lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lucian and I tried to make another birthday video today. The way it's going I might get it to you for his next birthday. It's basically become a blooper reel now. Once he sang the most wonderful song and then said Deven instead of Andrew at the very end! Doh! (Deven is one of his other little buddies.) Can we just change Andrew's name to Steve? because he really gets Steve on Blues Clues right now. It's all I ever hear anymore!

    Loved the pics from the party (I got the extended play version!) Looks like it was a hit. Pappa looked very very proud too. Way to go! You're a rockin Mamma with a very lucky (and gorgeous) little birthday boy.

    ReplyDelete