Aidan's Birthday Party

Here I am, almost 11pm and I am exhausted. Today was our big day. It was an early start for preparations and a full day of work. And sure enough, the doorbell started ringing right at 4pm. Once it started ringing, it didn't stop. Aidan was so excited about the decorations and balloons, and then all the kids. He kept telling them, "Party, party!!" All of his favorite play buddies came. As well as 19 adults, 16 kids, and 2 babies. Yeah. Out of all the invites we sent out, only two families didn't show. When I made the guest list, I figured, 'oh, they won't all come.' Even with all the people, we had enough food and things went really well. In a party situation, I'm only so prepared. I'm never completely organized. Before the kids mutinied and took over the party, I started the party games. We had a Thomas the tank engine pinata and a pin the number on Thomas game. The pinata was so cute. Luckily the weather held out and we didn't get the rain they predicted, so the pinata could be done outside and beaten to death as it should be. The little kids gave it their all. And the big kids were out for blood. They really liked the pinata. The little kids were more into the pin the tail on the donkey-esque game. It was a little more their speed. The winners liked their prizes and by the time we were done with the games, dinner was ready. I couldn't have timed it better if I had actually planned it. Big props to Daddy for grilling the burgers and hot dogs. All the parents were really good about supervising to ensure there was no big messes or spills on carpet, which is always appreciated. And if the candy from the pinata wasn't enough sugar, we had cake and ice cream. (I heard a couple parents joke that they weren't leaving until the sugar buzz was over.) Aidan seemed to love everyone singing to him. He tried his hardest to blow the candle out, I think Daddy helped a little though. After the cake and ice cream were enjoyed, it was present time. All the kids were looking forward to this too. It's amazing how much help Aidan had unwrapping presents. And he had many to unwrap! He made out like a bandit again this year. He got an easel and art set from Nana and Grandpa Tim. He got a Bob the Builder tool bench set from Mike and Jen. He got a drum from The Trevinos. He got books, trains, Diego stuff, and lots of other stuff I can't even remember. People started to trickle out during presents. After we were done with them, a lot of our guests were gone. We sent home homemade party favors. I made caramel apples and used diposable plastic bowls to encase them, with a hole cut out for the stick to poke through the top. On the stick was a note saying, "I'm so glad you're my friend." Everyone seems impressed with them saying they were very Martha Stewart. Actually, it was born out of frustration and desperation to make it work. Either way, I was glad they liked them. I think I'll be making something easier next year. At this point, we had a few guests stay and help clean up, drink another beer and chat. In fact, Julien and two of his friends are outside, drinking beer and sitting around a fire in our neighbor's chimenea. But, most of the mess is cleaned up. The food put away. (And boy do we have left overs!) Big thanks to our neighbors the Dohacks for lending us a big table, 9 chairs, and a cooler at the last minute. They came in extrememly useful. (I love living in a real community with neighbors you can rely on.) The children were behaved for the most part, not too many issues. The big kids had video games set up upstairs in our loft room that kept them occupied. And their were enough trains for all the littler kids to play with. For the number of people we had, it went really well. We have great friends and they have great kids. Aidan loved his party and playing with all his friends. He loved waking up to Nana this morning and going out for breakfast with his grandparents. He was thrilled with his balloons and cake, and all in all, had a ton of fun at his party. All the hard work was worth it. Although, next year I think we'll do something smaller and a little less work. :) I hope Aidan won't mind.