Will's 4th birthday party

On Saturday we hosted Will's 4th birthday party - what a great time! 22 people in all - lots of fun with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents & Great Grandma. Will had been so looking forward to his party. I asked him what he thought we should serve (the party was around dinner time).
"Hot dogs, broccoli, and eye spy soup!" (Eye spy soup is this yummy vegetable soup his teacher serves at school. The kids play eye spy to identify the many, many veggies in it.) What a healthy eater I have! I tried to incorporate as much of this as possible into the actual menu, knowing that most other kids (and some adults) would be sadly disappointed if I served his chosen dishes. We ended up grilling, having chips, dip, veggies and fruit. It worked out just fine.

For the cake, Will requested chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, M&M's, sprinkles and oreos. Do you think he likes chocolate? I quickly convinced him we would have to cut the oreos - it was just too much. I conveniently decorated when he was not around and he forgot about the sprinkles, too. So, here is the final product.

The morning of Will's party, Aunt Casie came to take him on a "surprise adventure". The two of them went to the mall for the morning and Will got to do a Build-A-Bear for his birthday. Thanks to Aunt Casie's guidance, he ended up with a very cute "Cuddly Frog" who he now sleeps with every night. Will had so much fun and was thankfully very worn out for his nap.

We didn't get too many great pictures from the party. He was so busy playing, eating, and unwrapping gifts! I'm pretty sure we now own everything ever made related to Toy Story or Disney Cars. He was so cute as he was opening each card. He'd open it and "read" something to the effect of "Dear William, I love you very much. Have a happy birthday!" It was pretty funny. We ended up with a very happy little boy. (And I know Casie has some better pictures, so hopefully she'll send me copies and I can post them.)

Since our camping trip this summer, Will has been begging for me to sleep with him again. I decided that for a special occasion we could do a slumber party in the living room. So, after the party, he and I had a slumber party. He got to stay up late (10:45!), watch movies, play with all his new toys, and snuggle with me. By 6:45 the next morning, he was up and ready to go. I don't think either of us slept particularly well. Justin asked him how he slept and Will replied, "Not very good. Mama kept pushing me." Really?! He was the one grabbing my hands, face, hair, or shirt all night! It was a really fun time, but something we'll only do on special occasions.



The next morning felt like the day after Christmas. Will was so excited to play with all his new toys. Here he is in his new Mickey PJ's playing with his dragon castle. He LOVES it and it has sparked so much creative play for him!

Ellie Kate thoroughly enjoyed having a blow-up mattress out to bounce on. It also made it so she could climb onto the sofas by herself. She was in heaven!

All in all, I think it was quite a successful party. It marked the beginning of 2 weeks full of birthday and Halloween parties -- we should all be sugared up by November 1!