Blake's Big Day(s)

Blake was very excited to turn four.

I really wanted to throw him his first "friends" party this year, especially now that most of our relatives live far away. I held on to the party ideas that were spinning around in my head for weeks. I was even almost crazy enough to pull some all-nighters and follow through. But, in the end, with his birthday falling smack dab in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and right in between two trips for us, I finally came to terms with the fact that I couldn't pull it off (at least not in the way that I envisioned).

So, I filed away my party ideas for another year, and I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. For not being a "party year," I think Blake would agree that his birthday was still sufficiently celebrated.

We kicked off his birthday festivities by making cake pops to bring to his celebration at school.

Blake's teachers invite the parents in on each child's birthday to do an activity with the class. Naturally, I chose to teach his class yoga. 

Those preschoolers were pretty cute playing yoga games.

On Blake's actual birthday, our playgroup happened to be meeting up at a playplace. So, we made another round of cake pops and ended up having a makeshift party. It might not have been the classiest celebration ever, but Blake was absolutely thrilled to have all of his friends sing to him.

Some of his cute friends even made his day special by bringing cards and gifts (their moms overheard my griping about whirlwind December birthdays).

Back at home, we brought out special birthday decorations.

Blake requested chicken, potatoes, carrots with dip, and cake for his birthday dinner. I thought that was a feasible request. His uncles joined us for his small evening celebration.

Blake's other request was to play the balloon dart game that we played last year on his birthday. Apparently it wouldn't truly feel like his big day without incorporating this tradition.

These were my shots. Yes, my four year old son has better aim than me.

When the darts actually popped the balloons, little candy pieces fell out.

We moved on to a few small presents, under the Christmas tree of course.

Blake was sung to at least seven times on his birthday. Every time a grandparent or aunt or uncle called to wish him a happy birthday, he stated, "You have to sing to me!" He ate all of that singing right up.

In the end, the thing that Blake was most excited about was his new big bed (a necessity since Nash has been climbing out of his crib and it's time to shuffle beds). Blake was literally jumping up and down when we brought him out to the car after dinner to show him the packaged mattress set.

He was pretty darn excited about his birthday crown from preschool too. He talked about wearing the crown for weeks in advance.

After all of the celebrations, Blake asked, "Am I as tall as dad now because I'm four?" Getting close. :)

Happy fourth birthday, little man. We love you.