Graham's 4th Birthday

It occurred to me a few weeks before Graham's birthday that he was turning four, and in our family, that means he got to have a friend birthday party.  Frankly, planning a birthday party just seemed like one more thing to try to add to an already over-full load of responsibilities.

"Hey Graham," I said to him in my most excited voice, "I have a really great idea.  How about we wait until you turn five to have a big friend birthday party?!"

No dice.  This boy loves his friends.  He's also not terribly picky about who he counts as a friend.  His philosophy seems to run more along the lines of "if you're roughly my size, then you're my friend!"

Then I realized that Graham has a summer birthday, which means we could have an outside party.  Suddenly, the task seemed much less overwhelming.  A little pool, a slip and slide, the water table, some snacks, cake and ice-cream, and we should be good, right?

In theory, yes.  

In my over-abundance of optimism, I failed to expect Seattle to act like Seattle.  The forecasted high on the afternoon of his birthday party was only 65 degrees.  But the show must go on!  

I tasked Aubree with pouring buckets full of warm water into the kiddie pool, while I boiled pot after pot of water to try to provide the kids with a semi-warm place to play.  We were semi-successful.

Thank goodness kids are good sports! 

 

Some kids were more adventurous with trying the slip and slide than others.  Cousin Anna and Thane were the two who spent the most time trying different tricks.  At one point, I turned to Katie getting ready to say, "It's so funny that Thane and Anna are playing so well together," before it occurred to me, "They're the same age! It shouldn't be surprising that they're playing together!" Usually, Anna prefers to play with Aubree or Bryce, so this was a great bonding experience for her and Thane.

When Seth felt the sliding was too tame, he gave his kids a little "boost."

 When Seth wasn't tossing kids around, he and Mark took over watching the babies.

 

Graham just loved having all his friends around. 

Introducing Clara to Claire

What the kids liked most (by far) was free access to the snack table.  Next time we throw a four year old birthday party, I might just put a snack table out and call it good!

Katie recently decided that she loves making birthday cakes and volunteered to be the designated cake decorator.  Hurray!  Hoorah!!!  I will decorate cakes for my kids because I love them, but it always ends up being such a headache.  Plus, Katie does a WAY better job than I've ever done.  

We decided to have her make a parrot, because we call Graham our little parrot (he loves to parrot all he sees and hears).

Graham loved it!

Graham's cute friends brought him some fun presents.  

Before his party, a few people asked, "What kind of gift does Graham prefer?"  It was a hard question to answer.  He's a kid who loves lots of things, but not anything in particular. Which means he'd be happy with anything... or nothing.

In the end, he was super pleased with his party.  Which is all that really counts, right?

The next day was his actual birthday, and he opened his family gifts.  He got his first little Lego set and was so excited to build like his big brothers (keeping the big brothers from building for him was trickier).  He also got his first personalized CD from Mark - a big milestone!

Thane, ever the thoughtful gift giver, put together a whole bag of little gifts. 

We adore our G-Whiz!

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An Interview with Graham:

Favorite Color?: "All the colors in the rainbow."

Favorite Candy?:  "M&M's"

What do you want to be when you grow up?: "A Dad." (His standard answer for a long time was "a zebra")

Where do you want to go on your mission?: "To church."

Favorite Primary Song?: "Popcorn Popping."

Favorite Animal?: "Elephant."

Favorite Movie?: "Thomas the Tank Engine."

Favorite Thing to Do?:"Watch movies."

Favorite Food: "Tortellini."

Best Friends?:"Molly, Jayden, Eli, Clara, Piper, Bentley."

Favorite Book?: "Flap Your Wings."

Favorite Toy?: "My shooting thing from McDonalds."

What makes you happy?: "When Dad reads stories."

Favorite thing to do with Mom?: "Cook with her."

Favorite thing to do with Dad?: "Make ravioli with him."

What do you do really well?: "Look at books."

What makes you laugh?: "When you do a joke to me."

What’s the best time of day?: "Going to church."

What are you afraid of?: "Dragons."

What do you like to do with your family?: "Cook."

What do you love to learn about?: "Paint."

Where do you like to go?: "To Ember's house."

If you had one wish, what would it be?: "Drawing.  Something for my friends."

What would you do if you had $1,000?: "Spend.  Spend it on a - huh - a, a, a thousand things."

What is your favorite song?: "I love you."

What do you hope you can do before your next birthday?: "Cook!" 

What's your favorite Super Hero?: "Superman."