So, I have clearly gotten behind on the blogging! And, the further I get behind, the more pictures I have to share. And then I start to dread the catching-up process. Yet I am far too Type A to just let it go. So, here I am! I am just going to post about our boy's birthday. Hopefully, I'll fill in the gaps in a later post, with more pictures from our visit with my parents!
Anyway... Our boy is FIVE! I still can't believe it. On Thursday, he climbed into bed with us at 6am to snuggle (something he has just started doing again). Gus, who is usually out of the house long before then, had decided to leave for work later than usual so he could wish his boy a happy birthday. And once it was time, the three of us went downstairs together. And, lo and behold, Nikos' new bike was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, with five helium balloons tied to it (thank you, dollar store!). He was SO excited! And we let him open another small gift before Gus had to leave for work, since he was begging to open presents. It was an excellent morning!
After breakfast, the kids went to preschool. Nikos brought mini vanilla bean scones to share with his classmates. They all sang to him at snack time, but he had requested that they sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" instead of the traditional birthday song. He really hates it when people sing "Happy Birthday" to him, for whatever reason. I think it's the whole being-the-center-of-attention thing. But whatever! He was very happy.
After lunch, I moved my car to block the end of the driveway, and we let the kids ride around on their bikes. We didn't take Nikos' training wheels off, because our driveway is slightly sloped and, well, kind of dangerous! Both kids got lots of practice using their brakes, which is always a good skill. And I got a bunch of pictures like this. He really, really loves his bike! :)
Eventually, Gus came home from work, and we rushed to make it to the restaurant before they gave our table to someone else. And after a delightful, belly-filling meal, we dragged ourselves home. It was already late, but we had presents to open and cake to eat. So we did exactly that.
Fast forward to today (Saturday), and it was party day! Nikos had said he wanted to have his party at the bowling alley, so that's what we did! Fourteen kids were invited, and ten ended up showing (although three of them came an hour late and missed the bowling part, since their mom got the time wrong-- oops!!). And really, there were three other babies and one older brother-- so fourteen small people. I was stressed out, mostly because I generally dislike chaos and had no idea how everything would play out. But it was great! Everyone had fun, and the ramps/bumpers made it so everyone was very successful. But the best part? We showed up only about 20 minutes before the party began, we had a bowling alley employee who took care of everything we needed, and we walked away from the mess right when the party ended. Easiest birthday party ever! And the only casualty was one pinched finger-- Maya's, and she recovered quickly. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Oh, and Nikos even got a souvenir bowling pin to keep, hehe! He will always have it as a reminder of his fifth birthday party, and the first time he ever bowled. I think it's kind of neat!
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