It was a little crazy to celebrate Jack's 6th birthday. It was the same day of the week that he was born, which just brought back memory after memory of the birth experience. It was fun to talk to him at various times throughout the day about what happened at that point (no, not like "At this time, the doctor broke my water and then, BOY, did I really know pain", or "then I had to go to the bathroom and the IV got yanked out of my arm and blood was spurting everywhere". More like, "Aw, this was around the time that we were at the hospital waiting for you" and "oh, around this time you were actually born!" and "Aw, you pooped all over Mommy in the bed as she was trying to change your meconium diaper!" You know, the wholesome, not-scary details!).
Jack chose waffles and strawberries for birthday breakfast. He devoured them.
In the Vigue House, we start celebrating on the birthday. I was always sad that I didn't do that growing up, and Tyler just thought it was how things were done. So he did all the streamers the night before while I...hmmm, I don't know what it was I did, but it obviously wasn't cleaning!
Bright and early! We learned early on that opening gifts in the morning lets our kids have ALL DAY to play and experiment with their toys. I foresee this getting more difficult as all-day school happens, but it was SO MUCH FUN today!
Upon opening the Lego Starfighter, Jack repeated "I cannot believe it! I cannot believe it!" It's his first "big build" Lego from Granddude and Manah. Thank you!
He put this shirt on right after finishing present-opening. Thanks Grammy and Pop--you spoiled him!
This was Jack's "WHOA" present opening face. He wore that expression most of his birthday morning! It was nice that he was truly appreciative of every gift.
I didn't think I'd be doing a cake for Jack's actual birthday. We were having a friend party the next day, and the R2 cake required a lot of cake and quite a bit of time...but I ended up having 2 extra 6" cakes, which was perfect for a VERY last minute Yoda cake. He looks more like a cross between ET and a Gremlin, but Jack was thrilled, so who's gonna worry that it's not accurate?
I think this is a "hand-over-the-mouth-in-excitement" look. Yoda is on fire, however, so it might be shock. We're burning the last true Master of the Jedi arts! It tasted delicious!
Tyler was in charge of the birthday party. Honestly, between the pregnancy and getting over a sinus infection, I wasn't really eager to do the party this year. Tyler was, however, so I told him he could plan it and do it. I'd do the cake.
Bright and early! We learned early on that opening gifts in the morning lets our kids have ALL DAY to play and experiment with their toys. I foresee this getting more difficult as all-day school happens, but it was SO MUCH FUN today!
Upon opening the Lego Starfighter, Jack repeated "I cannot believe it! I cannot believe it!" It's his first "big build" Lego from Granddude and Manah. Thank you!
He put this shirt on right after finishing present-opening. Thanks Grammy and Pop--you spoiled him!
This was Jack's "WHOA" present opening face. He wore that expression most of his birthday morning! It was nice that he was truly appreciative of every gift.
I didn't think I'd be doing a cake for Jack's actual birthday. We were having a friend party the next day, and the R2 cake required a lot of cake and quite a bit of time...but I ended up having 2 extra 6" cakes, which was perfect for a VERY last minute Yoda cake. He looks more like a cross between ET and a Gremlin, but Jack was thrilled, so who's gonna worry that it's not accurate?
I think this is a "hand-over-the-mouth-in-excitement" look. Yoda is on fire, however, so it might be shock. We're burning the last true Master of the Jedi arts! It tasted delicious!
Tyler was in charge of the birthday party. Honestly, between the pregnancy and getting over a sinus infection, I wasn't really eager to do the party this year. Tyler was, however, so I told him he could plan it and do it. I'd do the cake. So, here he is. After a nice gathering game of "Pin the Lightsaber (or blaster) on Luke (or Han)", the crew moved outside for some REAL fun.
A Jedi Obstacle Course. There was running, and climbing, and rolling, and bubbles. Did I mention running?
And, they were off! Fortunately, it was nearly 70 degrees the day of the party, so they got to run around like crazy little Younglings! It ended up being the best kind of mildly-organized chaos--the best kind of thing for a 6 year-old's party!
R2D2 was my contribution to the party. I must admit, it was a LOT of fun to make...and so fabulous to see the kids' expressions when they saw it. How often do you feel like you nailed that kind of magical moment?
A Jedi Obstacle Course. There was running, and climbing, and rolling, and bubbles. Did I mention running?
And, they were off! Fortunately, it was nearly 70 degrees the day of the party, so they got to run around like crazy little Younglings! It ended up being the best kind of mildly-organized chaos--the best kind of thing for a 6 year-old's party!
R2D2 was my contribution to the party. I must admit, it was a LOT of fun to make...and so fabulous to see the kids' expressions when they saw it. How often do you feel like you nailed that kind of magical moment?(now back to me...for my first go with fondant, not too shabby, eh? I learned that with marshmallow fondant, you just knead it until it gets elastic. If you knead more than that--other than when adding coloring--it goes all crumbly and you'll end up sending your husband to the store for C&H powdered sugar at 10:15 pm so you can make the cake the night before the party. What can I say, we don't have a second fridge so everything is last minute!)
Using the Force to keep up balloons. Lots of giggling and shrieking.
The lure of the cake was too much. As one game was ending and another about to begin, we found this crew checkin' out the goods one more time...
We rounded up games with "Don't Eat Pete", Star Wars style! Everyone got a turn and it was a nice transitional game...transition to PRESENTS! His friends spoiled him rotten, and he's thoroughly enjoyed every gift! Thank you!
We love these Party People! We had friends old and new, as well as cousins--it was the best combination!
Sheridan was a little upset that I was cutting into R2D2...although the cake resolved any qualms about that!
Thanks for those who came! We had SO MUCH FUN. Things went off without problems. Grown-up friends cleaned a bunch of the mess up before I could even waddle to it! Seriously, it was a happy birthday for all of us.
Using the Force to keep up balloons. Lots of giggling and shrieking.
The lure of the cake was too much. As one game was ending and another about to begin, we found this crew checkin' out the goods one more time...
We rounded up games with "Don't Eat Pete", Star Wars style! Everyone got a turn and it was a nice transitional game...transition to PRESENTS! His friends spoiled him rotten, and he's thoroughly enjoyed every gift! Thank you!
We love these Party People! We had friends old and new, as well as cousins--it was the best combination!
Sheridan was a little upset that I was cutting into R2D2...although the cake resolved any qualms about that!
Thanks for those who came! We had SO MUCH FUN. Things went off without problems. Grown-up friends cleaned a bunch of the mess up before I could even waddle to it! Seriously, it was a happy birthday for all of us. Some of Jack's Favorites:
Color: Rainbow
Food: Pizza and Ravioli
Things to do:
Play Nintendo with Dad (and other video games)
Read Harry Potter with Mom
Play with Friends
Play games (he really likes his new game of Star Wars Guess Who?)
Going on Treasure Hunts
Jack is becoming such a great sharer and helper. He was great about sharing his birthday toys with his brother and sister (which was really impressive!) and he's so good at helping his siblings when they're sad or angry. He's started using some of the distraction techniques we've been trying out--and he does a better job with those (with Henry and Sheridan) than we do! He does adore Star Wars...but he loves his family even more!
Comments
The R2 cake is seriously da bomb! (Jack is so lucky to have a mom like you!) I've shown it to several of my co-workers. I introd with "Do you want to see the best cake ever?" And, at first, they were a little skeptical, but after seeing it, they pretty much felt the same way.