Party, Party, Party, Party

Two weekends ago we had FOUR birthday parties to attend! How exciting! We looked forward to the parties all week, gifts were bought and wrapped, cards were made, and Chance's parents agreed to come over one afternoon to keep Annie during one of the parties. Everything was all ready to go! Then Saturday came, and Cade was a little tired and not too enthused about the parties. Here's where I should have stopped, listened to what he really wanted to do, and perhaps changed or toned down our plans. But that is not what I did...

His spirits lifted when we got to the first party - Conner's 6th birthday party at Powersports. Lots of fun was had by all of the Friendship class kiddos running around like crazy. I have to admit that I wanted to attend all of these parties not only to celebrate with the kids, but also to reconnect with their parents. The other families from Cade's preschool have all become good friends, and I really miss seeing all of them in the mornings! The kids' siblings have even gotten attached to little Annie. Here's Caroline playing with Annie, and Cade with Conner.



Sweaty boy!



First group picture of the day



Although a little tired, Cade was still all smiles here. But after eating a little bit of cake with Conner, it was time to scoot off to the next party. Cade was not thrilled about this. But, we had already RSVPed for the 2nd party, so I drug him out of Powersports to head to the pool (what a terrible Mom I am!).

The next stop was Kayla's 6th birthday party at the Rock Prairie pool. This was the same group of kiddos as the earlier party, so they were all set for more fun together. Cade's energy was really fading by this point (waking up at 5:00 am in anticipation of parties makes for a long day), but he managed to have some fun splashing in the pool when Chance surprised us by getting off work early and coming to the party! I didn't get any pictures because Annie was also getting pretty sleeping and I had to keep her out of the sun.

Then it was time for cake. There was some kind of incident involving someone sitting in Cade's seat, Cade taking a new seat next to Garrett, and Garrett pinching Cade. Who knows why, or if it even actually happened, but we had one screaming boy on our hands after that. Then it was time for the 2nd group picture of the day.



Isn't that the most pathetic picture you've ever seen? Cade is pouting, Garrett is hiding his face in his hands because he is in trouble, and Jaden is just happy to see his two buddies!

So we went home about 2 seconds after this picture was taken. We got a good rest that night and were ready to go to the next 2 parties on Sunday. Or so I thought.

Sunday afternoon took us to Olsen Field for Jake and Luke's 6th and 4th birthdays. Cade played on the playscape for a little while with Will and Luke.



Soon after this, though, a very quiet voice said to me "I'm ready to go home. My body wants to be at home right now". At first, I was incredibly frustrated. Chance's parents had driven all the way to our house to stay with Annie, and I was looking forward to catching up with my friends from work at this party. But when I finally consented and told Cade that we could just go home, his whole face lit up. Sometimes, all our boy wants is just to be at home with his family. How can you argue with the innocent sweetness of that? May he always love being with us this much.

After a little rest time, I asked Cade to honestly tell me if he wanted to go to the next party or not. He said he did. So, borrowing from my YogaFit training, I let go of all expectations and loaded up for the 4th and final birthday party of the weekend. Whether we stayed for 5 minutes or the whole time, I was going to let Cade call the shots, and recognize that these parties are not about appearances or adult time; they are simply about kids having fun. He was very excited to see his friends when we got there and started bowling right away. This was Radley's 6th birthday party at Grand Station, and it was great!

The parents and kids from the Weekday School really have become like family. We all pitch in when others' kids need drink refills, another piece of pizza, or shoes tied. I'm thankful for all these people!



Since Annie is starting to eat real food now, she dined on sweet potatoes while we were there. In a bumbo. At the bowling alley. Am I crazy?



Two successful group pictures, a little time in the arcade, and it was time to go.



If you ever have the chance to take your kid to four birthday parties in one weekend...DON'T :) But I'm glad we did, because I learned an important lesson - Listen to your kid. He knows what he needs. His needs are different that yours. And that is OK.