Fall Birthday Season

Jackson was invited to four birthday parties over the past few weeks. One of those parties was for twins, which means I've had to buy five birthday presents in three weeks! I texted my sister saying I needed to add a "birthday party" line item in our budget. Jackson's family and friends have definitely added unexpected expenses this month.

The twins' party ended up being cancelled due to the wretched stomach virus going around. We hand delivered their presents once they were feeling better.

Next up was one of Jackson's cousins. She had a fun Frozen themed party. It was low-key at her nana's house, which is the kind of setting I prefer. They played pin the nose on Olaf, ate a gorgeous cake, and wrestled in the living room.

I tried to think of my kids' favorite things when buying her gift. We gave her a Maddie inspired gift--a new backpack full of snacks!

The following day we attended a friend's party at Bounce-U, an inflatable bounce house. This was Jackson's second party at Bounce-U, and equally entertaining. The place specializes in birthday parties, so everything was well planned. The employees gave all kinds of silly, yet effective directions, such as "Raise your hand if  you want fruit punch. Put your finger on your nose if you want water."

The only downside to this venue is the time constraints. They will kick you out if you go over your time limit. Instead of watching the birthday boy open up presents, their parents opted for a pinata instead. It was a big hit (pun intended).

This bunch of kids are friends because their moms are friends. I'm glad the kids have as much fun as us moms do.

Today we attended another birthday party from the mom group. This party was slightly stressful because

1. It was at a park, the same weekend that the governor issued a state of emergency due to severe rain and flooding from Hurricane Joaquin.

2. The birthday boy's mom asked me if I would decorate a cake with a Hot Wheels track. I had never made anything with loops and was worried about it caving in or cracking. 

Thankfully, the decorations turned out fine. (Okay, there may have been some emergency, last minute scotch tape involved, but I promise that was not my fault!)

Much more impressive was the fact that the weather was okay. It was only misting, so the kids could still play outside. Most kids wore rainboots and the parents accepted the potential risk of bringing home wet kids.

There were games, puzzles, Hot Wheels tracks, trains, and coloring pages set up at different tables. Jackson spent the majority of the party coloring quietly. This used to bother me that Jackson would rather color by himself than play with his peers at a party. It took me a long time to not only accept, but appreciate Jackson's interests and abilities.

Of course, he still spent time eating and playing with his friends.

Jackson has already asked me what we're going to do for his birthday. Thankfully, we have six months to decide.