Birthday Bonanza

It has been birthday madness at our house for what feels like about a month.  Around Labor Day, Ben and Mom started making the guest list and ordering supplies.  This is a whole new ballgame in elementary school.  We chose to invite all of the boys in class so we could send invitations in school.  Shortly after we got emails for all of the parents and were able to follow up that way as invitations seem to get eaten by backpacks.  Ben was so excited to celebrate with new and old friends.

First we started celebrating with family.  On Mom’s birthday, Mom and Ben got to celebrate at Papa’s place.  We shared donuts with family and opened presents.  There is a new recreational area on the grounds so we enjoyed some putting and tennis after our celebration.  We’ll definitely be coming back to play again during our visits!

School was closed for a day between Mom and Ben’s birthdays so Mom and Ben took off together and enjoyed a day of fun.  We started with lots of Wii play.  Then we met some friends at mini golf.  We headed to lunch after that and then home to “rest”.  Resting lasted about 5 minutes, so we turned on a movie that Mom had been saving away.  Mary Poppins was Mom’s favorite movie in kindergarten and now it was time to see if Ben enjoyed it as well.  He really did, but Mom forgot that the movie is 2.5 hours long. . . almost two hours in, Ben politely asked if he could go outside for a little bit as he was tired of TV time.  That was a welcome surprise and we enjoyed a walk and some Italian ice.  What a fun day!  Hopefully a professional day for school will fall near the birthdays every year!

On Ben’s actual birthday, he woke up not feeling 100%.  He convinced Dad that he needed to stay home.  They took his birthday treats to school as it was his week to supply snacks for the class and we had planned to take birthday donuts on that day.  After being home a couple of hours, it seemed that Ben was itching to get back to school.  Allergies had just got him down, but he was starting to feel better.  He was able to make it for the second half of the day and was greeted by some wild birthday hugs from friends.  They all made birthday crowns that afternoon and the other kids put theirs away for their birthdays and Ben got to wear his and bring it home.  They enjoyed the donuts and sang to Ben.  He felt like a king!  We had planned to go to the fair that night, but with his allergies and the cloudy weather we opted for indoor fun.  We ended up at Andy B’s to play the arcade games.  Both kids had plenty that they enjoyed and could do.  It was really fun and we’ll definitely be back.  We ended up with some prizes and then headed out for birthday dinner.  After offering Ben to eat at any restaurant in all of Tulsa, he chose Subway!  He was the birthday boy so we obliged.  

Ben’s friend party was the following Saturday at Soccer City.  We had several friends that couldn’t come because they were playing at outdoor soccer games, but still had plenty of friends that could come.  Our coach played lots of games with the kids and they ran that field for an hour.  They were beat!  They had the best time though and Ben was so pleased.  We headed to a party area for cake and presents and Ben was spoiled yet again.  We are beyond blessed!  We enjoyed Lego Star Wars cupcakes and the kids wore Yoda party hats.  It seemed to be a hit and everyone left happy and tired.  We headed home with all of the grandparents to “relax” and enjoy some dinner together.  Ben tried to open and build every toy he got but then got tired and actually took a break.  Whew!  What a day!

Who knew this is what life with a 6 year old would be like?  It is pretty great!  We’ve all come a long way in these 6 years and we are soaking up this time of change, new experiences and growth.  We are off to a great start at elementary school, making friends and signing up for activities.  We are so blessed!