It is true, our Nid turned 4!! I can't believe it. Of course since I have 2 other little ones it would make sense that he IS finally 4. We went out on the 10th to hand out all of his invitations. We planned a dinosaur theme, since he loves dino's AND my wonderful friend gave us dinosaur invitations (love her!!). He was so excited to invite people to his party but a little less excited to give up the dinosaur invitations. . .of course he was thrilled when he realized that I had saved one for him!! He read it over and over again.
The Plan:
Nid's party was going to start at 11:00 am at Our house where we would have Homemade Pizza, Play games, like pin the "Dinosaur" on the picture, hot-potato etc. then we would open presents and head up for cake at Chuck-e-Cheese.
I was going to have EVERYTHING done ahead of time. So I started the night before (I am a notorious procrastinator so this was early for me). I made the cupcakes and left them out to cool, put up the decorations and hung the dinosaur game. I sat down on the couch and decided that cupcakes was not enough, Nid would want to have a Dinosaur cake with gummy worms on it(he had picked these out for his cake specifically). Even though I was putting gummy worms on the cupcakes I got off the couch and got on the Internet to find a EASY dinosaur cake pattern or at least something that I could do without cake decorating tools. I found one on Howdini.
It is now 11:00 pm. Rock got home from basketball at 11:30 and I decided I better get started on the second cake. I got them in the oven and out again at about 1:30 am. I am still feeling good at this time. I climb into bed with Rock and say in my mind that I am going to get up at 8:00 and finish everything else. Pizza dough, toppings and baking the pizza's, wrapping presents and cleaning up the house, kitchen, kids room, (luckily I had done the bathroom early, even though I still had clothes out on the dryer not to mention the unfolded clothes that were out on the living room couch),and no one ever sees my bedroom. . .thank heavens.
The Party:
Of course I ended waking up an hour late, giving me only 2 hours to prepare everything that I had planned to do in 3 hours. Oh well! I take Nid's cooled cake out of the fridge and cut the pieces to make it look like a dinosaur, prepare the green butter cream frosting( I almost had to run to the store for some more powdered sugar but I found a miracle bag that had been given to me from another last minute birthday scramble from the same wonderful friend that gave me the invitations. Again, love her!!) While I waited for the crumb layer to finish I started on the pizza dough. 10 minutes for the yeast to set, I hurried and got breakfast for the kids and told them to clean their room and get their clothes on (they are 2 and now 4, I would have told my 7 month old to do it but he just learned to crawl. I got Nid's cake out and started the final frosting, but there were still too many crumbs, put it back in the fridge to chill, finished the pizza dough and set it aside. Started cleaning the kitchen mess, even though I knew that I would be making more of a mess in a couple of minutes. Time is winding down, there are still clothes on the couch and on the dryer. Surprisingly the kids did a great job at cleaning their room, not perfect but I figured it would be a disaster again in about 20 minutes. Rock gets home to try and help. . .he is a great quick cleaner so I was not worried. . .only a little about where things would end up. . .usually on our bed. The last 30 seconds it was a mad rush getting the last little odds and ends picked up and the table cleared off. Of course the pizza wasn't done (however I did get one cheese pizza cooked and ready to eat by the time the guests arrived) And my wonderful friend came in, put her baby in the Mobe and does what she does; EVERYTHING! grate more cheese, cut up the olives and frost the undecorated cup-cakes, etc. She is the greatest.
Of course I wasn't going to have it all done before everyone got there, that is how ALL my parties are but lucky for me I have the best friend in the whole world who always helps me pick up the pieces when they fall and helps finish up all the loose ends that are always undone!! THANK YOU!!
It turned out wonderful, we were extremely late and the party lasted for a VERY long time, but it was worth it. Everyone had fun, even Muffin and our little Chloster got along the majority of the time.
Below are some fun pictures of some party happenings:
Nid closing his eyes (while his friend watches) for the big surprise that Rock was getting out of the car
And there it is, his nice new shiny red Roadster "BIG TRICYCLE"
The great Birthday Smile before the traditional blowing out of the candles and biting of the cake ( I finally finished frosting the cake and decorating it 45 minutes into the party!!)
After the biting of the cake (it was hard to bite this one it was too close to the pan) Look at that great decorating job!!
Nid with Chuck-E-Cheese, who they lovingly call Chuck-E (scary name!!) I can always tell when he has had a great time because his cheeks turn rosy!
All in all the party was a success, everyone had a great time and Nid only took on the "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" mood a couple of times. I truly love my little boy, he is a light in my life and always makes me smile. Rock and I joke that he is like Brutus on the movie "The Ugly Dachshund." He is such a big kid but still loves to curl up on my lap like a baby and and have some Mommy and son bonding time (as my legs slowly go numb). He had a Dr.'s apt the other day and he was 45 lbs (almost 46) and is almost 43 inches tall!! 95 percentile for both height and weight. My BIG boy is growing up as he tells me everyday, I just have to remember that someday he won't want to curl up on my lap and give me hugs and kisses and with say with an impish grin, "I love you Mommy!"
