Calling All Superheros - Brody Turns 4

There's one more event from June to write about and then I think we're finally caught up.  Jack's best buddy Brody turned 4.

I'm so thankful for the Meyer family.  Our relationship is one of those rare occasions where the guys get along, the girls get along and the kids along.  As fellow transplants from Kansas (and Jayhawk fans), husbands who used to work together and are both in the landscape/construction industry, wives who both work from home and boys that are all boy, we have so much in common and so much fun when we get together.  And we get together often.  We owe them a week's worth of barbecues when we finally get into our new house!  Of course, when Brody's 4th birthday party was planned at the Denver Children's Museum we wouldn't have missed it.

The theme was superheros and the party was adorable.

Birthday Boy

Each kiddo had a superhero cape waiting for them in the trees. 

They decorated masks and gave themselves superhero names.

Jeff getting in on the superhero action.

Checking himself out in the mirror.

Party room.

Superheros unite!

Happy Birthday, Bro!  I hope we are able to celebrate many, many more with you.

4th Birthday Party: To Infinity and Beyond

It wasn't long after Jackson attended his first classmate birthday party that he declared he too would like to have a party.  And he would like to invite all his friends.  And he would like it to be a Buzz Lightyear party.

Of course, his mother obliged.

So the Lawrence Gymnastics Academy was reserved and a party was planned.  Before I get into all the details and upload all the pictures let me just give a plug for the folks at LGA.  What an awesome, affordable and hassle free way to entertain a room full of 4-year-olds!  We brought cake, drinks, balloons and favor bags and the staff at LGA did all the rest.  They provided the entertainment, the supervision, the set-up, the clean-up, and they even kept track of who each gift was from.  The kids had a blast and absolutely worse themselves out.  It was fantastic.

I have to admit, I was concerned that no one would be able to attend.  After all, Saturdays in December tend to be an awfully busy time of year.  As it turned out there were 9 kids including Jack.  6 classmates, Cousin Attia (who totally held her own with all those "big" kids), and our dear friends the Stoddards who drove from Manhattan to help us celebrate. 

Here's Jack stuffing his party invitations (purchased here).

And helping me assemble the favor bags (which included toy story fruit snacks, tattoos, stickers and pez dispensers).

And here are a ridiculous number of pictures from the party itself.

Anxiously awaiting

Getting instructions

Slide!

Bounce house!

Foam pit!

 

Kids going crazy and parents supervising

 

Dads observing from above

Kids lined up and ready for cake (notice Jack's new Buzz Lightyear shirt for the occasion)

Time for cupcakes.  Those are some sweaty kids!

Make a wish!

 

Cool Buzz Lightyear balloon

Best friends

Presents!

Let me see!

Hugging his cousin goodbye

Jack was asleep before we made it home.  A sure indication that it was a success!

There were lots of new toys to admire - and to think, his actual birthday, let alone Christmas, haven't even arrived yet.  Where will it all go?

Jackson had been anticipating this day for weeks and I don't think he was disappointed.

Happy Birthday, Buddy...To Infinity and Beyond!

The Boy Wants a Party

The party celebrating Jackson's first birthday, I'll admit, was mostly for me.  It doesn't take much for the event planner in me to be inspired to throw a party - and what better occasion than your first born child's first birthday.  Truth be told, I was planning that party in my mind long before the calendar required me to do so.

Then he turned two.  I couldn't bear to not throw a party, but going all out again seemed a little over the top.  Especially since the guest list was composed entirely of friends of ours, not Jack's.  So I took advantage of the fact that all three of our birthdays fall in a 10-day stretch of time and had a family celebration. 

We took his third year off from throwing a party and instead devoted the whole day to Jackson and his favorite character - Mickey Mouse.

Which brings us to four.

Actually, Jack's birthday is still nearly 3 months away.  It wasn't even on his radar yet.  But Fletcher, a classmate of Jack's, turns four this weekend.  And Fletcher is having a party.  At the Lawrence Gymnastics Academy.  And the whole class is invited.  They got their very own Cars 2 invitations.  And the envelope had their name on it!  And Jack is excited.

He's been to birthday parties for family and even a few friends before, but they were our friends, too.  Fletcher is his friend which, in Jack's mind, takes this thing to a whole other level.  Besides being super excited for the shindig on Saturday, it's like a light bulb went off in his head:

If Fletcher can have a birthday and bring special invitations to school and invite the whole class to a party just for him...then, holy moly maybe I can too!

And so the boy wants a party.

He drops hints all the time:

"I'm going to bring Buzz Lightyear invitations to all my friends."
"At my party..."
"My friends are going to come to my birfday."
"Mom, I think I want to have a Spidey party."

The tides have turned.  Not only does he actually have his own friends to invite to a party, but he also has a pretty strong opinion about the theme of this event.  And it looks like cartoon characters are where it's at.

So here I am, in mid-September, researching kid-friendly party venues in Lawrence and scouring pinterest for Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman inspiration. 

What choice do I have?  My boy wants a party!

Lucky for him, his event planner Mama is happy to deliver.

A Mickey Mouse Birthday

Jackson's first birthday was a Winter ONEderland.  When he turned two we had a Milk & Cookies celebration.  For his third birthday we decide to forgo a formal party and instead had a day long celebration featuring his favorite "pal", Mickey Mouse.

Of course, every birthday boy needs a special birthday outfit so I whipped up this tee shirt the night before.

I'm not nearly as skilled as my sister-in-law, Abby, when it comes to these types of projects but for my first attempt I considered it a success.

The celebrating started right away with a special breakfast of...

Mickey Mouse pancakes!

We continued the theme at school when Drew & I delivered Mickey Mouse cupcakes (made by yours truely) to the class for snack time.

Then we picked up some Mickey Mouse balloons on the way home.

The gift opening started with a musical Mickey Mouse card, of course.

And then came the haul.

As a side bar, to all the toy manufacturers/packaging companies out there, is this really necessary? 

I mean, I realize Buzz Lightyear can be quite a hot commodity.  But it's a toy.  And not even a particularly expensive one at that.  Call me crazy, but removing a plastic toy from a cardboard box should not be this complicated.  Jeesh.

After the gift opening, there were 2 surprises in store for Jackson.  The first, involved a phone call from none other than Mickey Mouse himself.

Thanks Auntie Cortney for an absolutely awesome idea!

Jackson's next surprise was a visit from Gram & Grump.  They joined us for dinner (pizza was the birthday boy's request), cake and, of course, more presents!

Packages also arrived from Aunt Abby, Uncle Adrian and Cousin Linus (notice the Mickey themed wrapping paper - told you Aunt Abby was creative!).

As well as Aunt Kate, Uncle Austin and Cousin Attia.

Our super fun day ended with a Mickey Mouse cake.

It was good.

And now my little guy is three.

Hope you had as much fun as I did, Jackson.  And I hope all your birthday wishes come true!

Eat, Drink & Be Merry

Several weeks ago, Drew approached me with the idea of hosting a holiday party for his employees. 

At our house. 

December is a busy month for everyone, what with parties, decorating, shopping, etc.  And for our family of 3, who all celebrate our birthdays in December as well, it is especially insane.  But never one to turn down an opportunity to host a party, I of course said yes and got to work on the game plan. 

After consulting with his employees, the consensus was to provide smoked meats (a couple of the guys are expert smokers and volunteered their services) and beer and have everyone bring a side dish.  The venue, non-alcoholic drinks and desserts were on us.

Here are the invitations I whipped up.

We kept things super simple with disposable tableware and a self serve buffet line.

I made regular and peppermint Rice Krispie Treats (you must try these!) and cupcakes for dessert.

Decorations were simple, but festive.

Drew & I had a really nice time and I think his employees enjoyed it as well.  The food, especially the smoked meats, was absolutely off the charts.  And we could have fed a small army!

This event was also a good reminder for me.  As much as I love to go all out with over the top entertaining, disposable dishes and a pot luck menu are often just as effective - and a whole lot easier!

Just for fun, here's proof that when prepping for an event, things tend to get worse before they get better.  Check out this mess of a kitchen during the party prep stages.

And there you have the FMI Landscape Division 2011 Holiday Party.

Perhaps we'll have to make it an annual tradition.