The Train Party

I knew this birthday would be an exciting one since Jonas is at the stage where he gets very excited about parties and celebrations but I also knew that it wouldn't take much to please him - a few treats and presents, a fun outing, balloons and a cake would be great.

What I didn't take into account was that he has a 6 year old sister who would not be at all satisfied with this level of celebration. A party was a must!!! I am so glad Clara helped me along because in the end, it was well worth it.

Devin and I stayed up the night before prepping for the party which included fitting everything into our small European refrigerator...complete with every variety of IBC and juice box available. This was quite the feat.


It was a wonderful day that we tried to make as much about Jonas as possible. It began with our traditional string through the house with a dollar per year and small gifts along the way. It ended at the dining room table with his balloons, presents and a fun box of sugary cereal. He didn't seem to care at all about the presents after the candy that was placed along the string. He was perfectly satisfied with Skittles and Swedish Fish.


After a nutritious breakfast of Fruity Pebbles (with many BIG bites taken) we finished our preparations for his train themed party.


This included setting out the bags I had made the night before. I stamped the names of the children in red and thought it looked fine until Devin ruined it for me by telling me that it looked like I wrote the names in blood. He was right and that was all I could see from that point forward! Leave it to him...


Anyway, the children arrived and had fun coloring train pictures to cut out and put on their party bags.

We then played a game of pass the parcel (traditional British birthday party game) where we passed around a present that was wrapped many times and each child had a turn to unwrap one layer and with the ticket found inside get a prize.


Next came Devin's brain child - a wheelchair obstacle course. Not everyone wanted to give the chair a try (understandably) but those that did seemed to have a fun time trying it out.


The last activity was Clara's idea. Clay. This is something Jonas loves to play with and is a great wheat-free alternative to playdough. It was fun to see Jonas enjoying this with his good friend Jarom.


Food and cake were last on the agenda. Everything was Jonas friendly and nobody even seemed to mind the unique cupcake recipe.


The only problem with the party was when it came time to blow out the candle. Jonas let us sing him happy birthday for the first time ever which was sooo nice! He then eagerly went to blow out his candle but got too close for my comfort. Devin felt he had things under control but from my vantage point, he came very close to burning his lips!!!!!!! I didn't get a picture of it because I started panicking and had to put the camera down. I was very bothered but Jonas wasn't phased at all and Devin still claims he was perfectly safe.


It was such a fun party and it was so nice to have the children stay and play for a little while afterwards. I am so happy that Jonas loved it and had his friends there to help celebrate his big day.

One highlight was having his VERY good friend from school come. They are always playing together at school, holding hands and Jonas is constantly talking about her.


He also enjoyed opening his presents with Jarom, Emeline and Wes.



Apparently he wasn't sure what to do with this one and I can't blame him. It is a butterfly house without the butterflies. Apparently we can order some caterpillars in the Spring...


After the party and quick clean up we decided to take him bowling for the first time. Let's just say it is a good thing the first half of his birthday was such a success because it went quickly downhill. Seeing the pins get knocked over by the ball elicited this expression:


Then there was Clara whose form was really unique - here it is in a series of pictures...


(And if you can't tell, it flew into the next lane and set off some buzzer)

But mine was not much better. I am telling you, bowling with a huge belly really throws you and I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon.


We were about to call it quits when Jonas finally agreed to give it a try. He enjoyed pushing the ball and even clapped when it knocked over the pins - for about 3 frames - and then he was back to his dislike of bowling. By that time we were finished anyway and left glad that he at least gave it a try and seemed to enjoy at least 15 minutes of the hour long activity.



By now it was time for dinner and what better place to let Jonas enjoy his birthday dinner than his favorite...McDonalds. He was thrilled and ate happily. Then it was time for home where we were able to Skype with Grandma Mac and Grandma Morris - a rare and special experience.

And even though it was late, how could I deny him his favorite part of the day...a story before bed?


Overall I'll count it as a successful day and I will wait for it to sink in that he is already 4 years old. Maybe I'll come to terms with it by January 29, 2012.