Birthday fun!

My baby turned 4 over the weekend!  I can't believe it.  And he quite literally seemed to change overnight.  It may just be all the birthday excitement, but he slept the whole night in his own bed the last two nights (usually he creeps into the "big bed" around 1 am every night) and he is saying things like "Daddy, we shouldn't argue" (when Lee disagreed with him about something).  He might also seem so unbelievably big and old to me because the new baby's arrival is approaching with lightning speed......only 9 weeks until my due date!  Looking at all the tiny cloth diapers, onesies and sleepers and then folding a 4 year old's shorts and tshirts makes for quite a contrast.

We had a lovely, small birthday party for Ian on Friday with our playgroup friends that we've known since he was just 2 months old.  The goal was a "Sid the Science Kid" party, but my interpretation of that loosened up considerably as the date got closer.

Here's Ian scooping cupcake batter from the mixer the night before the party.  He was so proud of himself and I was proud of myself for letting him make a mess and make mistakes along the way.  Why is that so hard?

Here we are decorating the cupcakes the next morning, and there's my huge belly.  I think it's grown at least a few more inches in just the last few days.  Anyone have a belly girdle I can borrow?  (I'm kind of serious, I can't believe how sore the top of my abdomen is!)

Here's one of the worm cupcakes, chocolate with chocolate icing.  I got the recipes from Martha Stewart's site, but honestly next time around I'll probably buy a few boxes of cake mix from Whole Foods and call it a day.

We also made butterfly cupcakes, using pretzels for the wings and a sour gummy worm for the body.

The big activity for the day was Lee getting suited up in his beekeeper's gear and opening up the hive for the kids.  We have a large picture window right next to where the hives are, so it was easy for him to lift out frames and hold them up to the window for the kids to see.  It was super cute to see them all lined up at the window (of course I didn't take any photos, unfortunately) and I had some bee books from the library and a piece of honeycomb for them to look at as well.  I found some ladybug shaped magnifying glasses at the $1 spot at Target (evile, evile area but they were so dang cute I couldn't pass them up) and those were part of the favors the kids took home.

We bottled up some honey from another hive we have at Lee's parent's house, and each family took a jar of that home too along with some really simple "observation notebooks" I made that each kid personalized with letter stamps and stickers.

All the kids had fun, and I got to see my friends in the bargain.  Another Dad was here so he and Lee spent most of the party pushing the kids on the swing in the backyard and kicking soccer balls with them.  And the moms got to sit down for a few minutes and talk. 

I love planning parties and making stuff, and what better excuse to do both than a kid's birthday? 

Comments

[Thimbleina]

Happy Birthday Ian!

Love the party bags, honey what a great idea linking in with the beehive.

By the way you are no where near the size I was at that stage you have a very neat bump.

[rowena___.]

angel, that party sounds awesome! you are amazing, and you look so beautiful.

[Jenny]

I love it! I think you did a fantastic job! And what a big boy Ian is helping with the cupcakes.

[Rebecca]

Awesome idea for a great, personal party. I can't believe Ian is FOUR!

[shisomama]

You think Ian looks big now, wait until you see him again right after you give birth. I swear when Otis showed up at the hospital, he seemed 3 times larger and 4 times louder than the last time I had seen him (the day before).

And I LOVE your party ideas!! I was just reading to my husband all about the bees. That's just the coolest!! I love the local honey! My husband likes to talk about having bees at our house, but I don't think we'd ever do it.

[milly]

Angle Funk...you are so cute I cant stand it. I wish I could have a cup of joe with you and talk about your pending birth! Cant wait to hear about you new little one.