After being called out on my lack of blogging
since April, I've returned! Thank you to Auntie
Stacy, Martha (via Rachel), and Candice for the inspiration!
I actually have quite a bit to update you all on...
but I figured I would start with the true highlight -
Max's birthday (and possibly the fact that
I survived it all).
I do love parties (and potlucks, duh), and I love Max....so
it probably seems like I should be all about throwing
a birthday. But honestly....for awhile I couldn't muster
the energy to get the planning going. I even maintained we'd
just skip it this year (surely he wouldn't mind). But, I did
manage to shake my overall lameness and embrace
Max's chosen theme: Paw Patrol. Pretty standard
on the four year old party circuit, right?
I was skeptical at first that I would be able to
pull off a Paw Patrol theme - but I pinned a ton
of ideas, went on a Target sized shopping spree,
and things started to take shape. Once the life size
Chase/Marshall balloon and paw print stamps
started rolling in...we were in business.
I did really try to keep things simple (while also being cute,
festive, and fun!) - so we kept the party at the two hour
time slot, under ten kids, and manageable menu (read: pizza).
And, somehow, even after working at the Zoo until 10:30
the night before, everything worked out. Did I spend
too much money? Probably. But, how often
does your only child turn four? Exactly.
I hope you enjoy all the details below!
One of the first, (and easiest!) ideas I pinned
was using chalk to draw paw prints to lead
guests up to the door. Done and done.
This picture of our house is really just a shout out to
Papa Rob. The entire week leading up to the party,
I fretted (which is a nice way of saying, I got sassy)
about the shape of the yard. Having a party
in early May means maybe your yard is in
questionable shape? Ours definitely needed
some help. Papa Rob edged, and mulched
all the flower beds (front and back!). Hooray!
Definitely ripped some Paw Patrol clip art off of
Google. Then, tried my best not to care when Max
wanted to cut it out himself. It's the perfectionist
in me...but once we combined it with the words we
wrote on the door...all good!
Decided last minute to try and organize a game
of "Pin the bone on the dog". This game ended up
being a total flop. The kids were definitely more
interested in playing with all of Max's toys or
being outside in the bounce house....which
of course was totally fine.
Party balloons...which I always feels are
totally necessary!
Table set up - notice those plastic dog bowls I totally
scored at the dollar store. They were red and
everything. Immediately after I purchased them,
Max let me know that we would not be
using them at his party - but I was pretty
dead set on it....so I snuck them in there!
(They go so perfectly with the theme
and color scheme! I had too! I'm sure someday
soon he will start to appreciate my flair
for party decor?)
The menu included culinary gems like:
"Puperoni Pizza", "Pupcorn", "Fetch Sticks (pretzel stick)",
and even Farmer Yumi's veggies. Making those food
name tags gave me such an odd sense of satisfaction.
As I carried the brownies out to the table, Max said,
"Uh, Mommy, you forgot to light those
brownies on fire". haha! I explained that we would
sing and light the candle a little later on.
We gave out souvenir cups with Paw Patrol characters
for favors...filled with random crap Paw Patrol trinkets.
We waited until Sunday morning to do most of the
decorating, because we had run out of time with me
working, and it just made the most sense. It also helped
me cut down on overthinking everything.
One of my favorite moments - was Rob and
Max working together to hang these dangly
streamers. Max loved running between Rob
and I and handing him the streamer. It was particularly
adorable because he was saying things like,
"Daddy, I really like these decorations" and
"My party's going to be the best". :)
I think you all probably know that if it was
possible to have a photo booth in my house, I
absolutely would. But, alas, that hasn't come
to fruition yet - so we settled for the next
best thing - a cardboard photo frame filled
with all our favorite characters! This was -
hands down, my favorite part. Max
was also super into helping me paint, cut,
and glue all the parts to this! It was fun
to see him get excited :)
The day of the party - my plan was pretty much....invite
people over....and send them outside. Which was flawless...
except for the forecast...which was COLD (especially,
because the party started at 11:00). But, the kids
braved the chill for the bounce house. I knew that
ordering the bounce house was so clutch.
I feel like it SAVED THE PARTY.
In the end, there was just enough sunshine
to be warm...and smiles all around!
So, I consider that a win.
When I say he loved the bounce house -
he LOVED the bounce house.
(We've set it up nearly every weekend since -
and in fact, I told Rob, the theme for our
summer should be beers and bounce houses -
so if you have small children, feel free to
come right on over!).
Max's guest list included all of his friends
from school (mostly girls actually) - and a few
of our friends with kids. All in all - nine kids total.
And, at one point, all nine of them were on it.
*We even used the photo frame after the
party when the grandparents came over!
Basically, the two hours consisted of -playing and eating,
and bouncing. Perfect.
By the end, we had polished off the pizza and brownies,
bounced till our hearts content...and even opened
presents!
After all the kids left - Max agreed to
share the bounce house with Titi and Mommy
while maintaining that Daddy would probably
put a hole in it ;)
It was a wild day, and our favorite boy loved
soaking up all the attention from his friends. I know
he probably won't remember the details, and even
if he did - he might not care. But, I hope somewhere
down the line (maybe when he's a parent) - he will recognize
that yes, his parents are crazy. But, ultimately, we are
cuckoo crazy over him. We would watch hundreds
of episodes of Paw Patrol, order all the Chase balloons,
and hang all the streamers to show him how
much we love him.
Happy, happy fourth birthday, Maxwell James.
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