Zach's 4th Birthday!

Yesterday was Zach's 4th birthday. His party was on Saturday. Everything started at the end of April. That's when the Oriental Trading Catalog came. That day, Zach and I went through it to choose a theme. He really liked the Camping theme.

http://www.orientaltrading.com/camp-adventure-party-supplies-a2-PT2191-12-1.fltr?Ntt=camp

This was a fun theme to work with. We knew the party was going to be at my parent's house so I thought about the layout. We set up his Mickey Mouse mattress tent and my friend, Michelle, brought her two. Nearby, we had the inflatable campfire. In his pool we had inflatable fish making the pool into a "lake". Both his baby swing and big kid swing were set up too. Around the lawn were his inflatable ball, his basketball net, his crocodile seesaw, and his Velcro ball catchers.

Appetizers had a special request from Zach. He asked for watermelon. So we got 5oz cups and put green grapes and watermelon chunks in them. Those cups were refreshing on a hot day. Other appetizers were basics like chips, salsa, and hummus as well as a veggie platter. For lunch we added pasta salad, potato salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken legs. Like last year, Josh's Mom made a nice cake with Josh's Dad's help. They started a few days before.

Zach had a lot of fun and clearly so did his friends. We were happy that Josh's parents let us borrow their canopy to create more shade. It was a hot day. When other parents started talking about that I offered the hose and made a mental note to include on the invitation in the future that if it's above 80 degrees, bring a swimsuit. I didn't think it was going to be that hot when the invitations went out on May 1st. Spring had been so cold. If I thought about it, I would have remembered that it was 86 degrees for his first birthday. All I knew was that the parents were talking about how they wished there was water in the pool. So I made an announcement, "I am turning the hose on. If your parents say you can, I can spray you to cool you off." Most kids were allowed to and really enjoyed it. A few kids weren't allowed to and others were like Zach and were allowed to but they just didn't want to get wet. I wouldn't have offered if I hadn't recently gotten a spray head for the hose. That meant I could control the spray and where it went.

Popular goody bag items included the flashlight and binoculars. The craft table was in a sunny place so the crafts didn't get done. I sent them home as part of the goody bags. The crafts were a picture frame to put together and a bandanna to color in. Zach had gotten some cash and a couple of gift cards so we took him to Toys 'R' Us and Target. He got Transformer Decepticons: Starscream and Shockwave and the only four Power Rangers figures that had been released so far. He has one more gift card we are saving for when the Yellow and Pink Power Rangers come out.

On the morning of his birthday we gave Zach his presents from us. Two more Transformer figures. Ultra Magnus is an Autobot and Predaking is a Predecon. Predaking is the beast that the Autobots are hunting this season in Transformers: Prime Beast Hunters. Zach had been asking for them for months and only put them down for school and sleep since he got them.

While he was in school having his birthday muffins and getting a birthday book his classmates made for him, I was in K-Mart getting one last little surprise. It was a small soccer net. He liked it but his belly was bothering him so he didn't play with it much. He thanked me for it right when he saw it.

Last night we had dinner with my parents, my Aunt Clare, my brother and his fiancée. It was a wonderful dinner. Zach's belly ache grew so Josh ran home for the Abuteral. That's his emergency asthma medicine. Sure enough about five minutes after taking it he was back to being himself.....and ready for a small cupcake.

Aunt Sonny was tied up with work so we are making plans to see her to celebrate his birthday. There also is one more gift from us. Today we are going to get Zach garden flowers. Gardeners like us love getting garden flowers for gifts. I hadn't thought to offer them originally but when I glanced down at my Mother's Day flowers I realized that Zach probably would like that. Sure enough he's excited about getting them.

Now I have a four year old boy. Wow! They really do grow so fast. I am proud of how independent he is getting. It does feel good knowing he still loves my hugs and kisses. I know he won't always feel that way so I am definitely enjoying that while he does!