The Long-Awaited Dinosaur Party

The Dinosaur Party finally arrived!

I had a hard time giving Alex his birthday presents today, since his actual birthday is more than 2 weeks away. But he is still at an age where he doesn't realise that today isn't his birthdate, despite being able to recite his birthday as "at Christmas Eve". And we are having family over for Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, so it would be confusing for the little guy to get birthday and Christmas presents on the same day.

The theme has been discussed and planned for close to 6 months and since Alex kept changing his mind about what he wanted, we picked something from his list that we thought would be easy enough to organise.

However, we didn't take into account the busy and expensive time of year, so some of the things we wanted to do were just not possible (head over to my Dinosaur Party Pinterest board to see all the lovely things that endless money and time would have provided!)

But all in all, Alex was happy and that's all the matters!!

The Stegosaurus cake was a hit with old and young- for decoration and taste, and I love sharing that the cake inside is a 79c packet mix from Safeway! Alex's first choice of Stegosaurus colour was pink, then purple, then green, then orange. We went with orange (even though the photo looks peachy-pink).

We have lots of fun planning food around the party theme and this time was no different!

 

 

I really loved the Dinosaur outfit I made for Alex, even though he wasn't as impressed. Today was the only day ever that he didn't feel like roaring like a dinosaur!! Oh well, he can wear it around the house!

 

And the effort we went to to make these guys was a waste, coz they weren't used in the way we had planned and weren't quite as impressive as the look here (plus Mr T-Rex got eaten by the dogs)

In the end, we had 2 kids hyped up on sugar which is always a sign of a good party. Everyone was well fed, had fun and is now completely tuckered out!

No more party planning for a while... except that Christmas Eve dinner... and Megan is making requests for her "number 5 birthday" already...

Oh well, at least Pinterest takes the hard work out of finidng ideas!!

Recent events...

Here are some recent events at our place...

Lego is still a winner, though the interest is waning. We have only pulled out a few handfuls from Mike's massive stash, but that hasn't stopped the odd Lego man appearing under furniture and usually under my foot!

We painted some cardboard yesterday to create some cool dinoasurs for Alex's Dinosaur Party in a few weeks. Alex's interest was held for about 15 minutes, Megan's was much longer. Surprise, surprise!

 

 

These are our completed Dinosaurs, except Mr T-Rex is now extinct because the dogs chewed him up. Not happy Jan!!!!



Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer Chocolate Crackles have been a hit too. Mike made these for work, but we got to eat some...and there are ingredients left over. SCORE!!!!!

Toilet training with Alex has been going really well. Amazingly so. And apparently it's ok to let little boys have a wee in the garden. I'm not quite sure, but it has made much less washing for me coz he doesn't have to race inside, so I'll put up with it.....for now.

 

The Great Buzzy-Bee Party!

Megan turned 4 last week. Her birthday itself was rather low key. I was devastated that we both had to work on her special day. But it meant she got to have a birthday cake at creche with her day care friends, Nana and Grandpa picked her up so that they could give her some gifts before we took her out for tea for her dinner of choice....SAUSAGES!

and jelly thrown in too!

About 3 months ago, Megan decided that she wanted a Buzby (a cartoon bee) birthday cake and therefore a Buzby party. And so started the months of planning!

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE planning these kinds of things. Our error, I think, was that we started too early. For months I have had bee themes running through my head, sights of costumes and glimpses of various types of honey has set my brain ticking. We could do this...and this...and....

I liked the idea of having a pinata. The family kids were old enough to manage it without being too little or too grown up to be silly. Of course there would be no bumble bee pinatas around so I was happy to make one. Over about 5 weeks, we (mainly I) paper mache'd and painted 2 Buzby bee pinatas, the spare being in case I somehow stuffed the first one up! In the end it was great to have 2 so that the kids had twice as much fun whacking the c*** out of it!!

Our ideas for the cake were not as lavish as usual. Either that, or a bumble bee just fitted nicely into a round cake and simple design!

Naturally at a 4yr old birthday party, there had to be costumes. Again, I broke out my creative juices and make Megan a costume. Not my finest effort, but she was happy and that was all that mattered! Even hubby, myself  and grandpa had a bit of fun dressing up!

The Queen Bee!

The Bee Keeper!

Grandpa Bee!

And in typical fashion, after (most of) the food had been eaten, the games had been played and the presents opened, the guest of honour fell asleep on the couch very soon after the last party-bee had left!

Where to draw the 'party' line...?

Megan has been invited to loads of birthday parties lately. Some from cousins and friends, but mostly from kids from her daycare centre. Hubby and I are in different camps about them. He thinks she should go to them all. I don't.

It's not that I don't want her to attend the parties, it's just that I don't have the first clue about who the birthday boy/girl is! Megan will talk about just 1 or 2 kids, so we assume that they are her good friends. However these BFF's are not the kids inviting her to parties. I've specifically asked about the party kids, hoping to elicit a response like, "Yeah we played together all day today". Instead I get, "Yeah she's in my room".

Not only do I not know the kids, but have no idea about the families, the homes or party expectations. Do we stay? Do we go? How do I make small talk with a mum or dad I have never met and will probably never meet again? Am I putting my own social anxieties into a situation that doesn't need it?

Megan's birthday is coming up and we hadn't even considered inviting friends from creche. When there are loads of cousins, mother's group kids and kids of friends, there isn't enough room to think any further. But what if these birthday boys and girls don't have all the kids around that we do. What if creche friends are the only friends they have?

Megan isn't quite old enough to notice if she doesn't go to these parties. But is it fair to her to skip over them? How much will they talk about it at creche and she will miss out?

Where do I draw the PARTY line???/

Spoilt for choice...

We decided to reign things in this year, for birthdays and Christmas. Rather than lots of toys that get played with for 15minutes and then discarded, Mike and I decided for something big and something small.

The plan for Christmas is to build a cubby house-cum-swing set-cum-slide. Of course, it will be quite difficult to choose the 'something small' when the layby-for-xmas toy catalogues come out!

So, with Megan's birthday coming up at the end of June and we have started to think about birthday presents for her.

Really, she needs nothing. She has clothes, shoes and books galore. We have loads of crafty/make-y things. She has a bike, scooter, balls, etc.

I'd rather not buy her another 'thing'. I'm sure it will be loved and gushed over for a while, but in the end it will be forgotten or broken.

I asked her what she wanted and she has said over and over, she wants a camera. I can understand this idea. I am always taking photos, with my phone and great digital camera. We have tried the camera gift before. She got one of the sturdy, kids cameras for Christmas but the screen was so tiny and dodgy that it was a waste of time. All the kids want to do is take a photo and look at it, so that one was returned.

So here, is the question. Do we get her a real digital camera and teach her how to use to properly and look after it? Can we share a love of photography and nurture a budding artisit? Could she be the next Ansel Adams or Max Dupain? (Do I sound impressive knowing 2 fantastic photographers???)

Or do we go with an experience gift (which I love)? Disney on Ice will be here just after her birthday and co-incides nicely with the school holidays.

Both are expensive, so we need to decide right....but what to choose???

Birthday, Christmas, Family and Friends...

Phew, what a busy week it has been! A birthday, Christmas Day and lots of catching up with family and friends.

Alex's birthday was great. He loved being the centre of attention, especially during this frantic time when people's minds are usually in three places at once. The beach was fantastic fun, and though not his first visit, it was the first time he really enjoyed his surroundings.

Christmas Day was easy and stress-free. We opened presents (after brekkie would you believe!!), had a lovely lunch with Nana and Grandpa and then a quiet evening playing with new toys.

And then the past few days has been time to catch up with family that we didnt see on Christmas Day (plus a visit to the movies with a friend for me, lovely!!)

Tomorrow is another visit to friends then watching the family NYE fireworks in Geelong with Aunty, Unlce and Cousin.

Then a bit of relaxing time, I hope...

A day in the life of the Birthday Boy

Thought I'd document Alex's second birthday pictorially this year....

Still in PJs...opening his presents...

Talking Iggle Piggle...yey!!

Fun with his new spinning toy...

At the beach with Dad...

Loving the water with Mum...

Having a great time...

back home...sharing an icecream with the dog...

enjoying his favourite dinner~ chicken, silverside and salad...

cake with a singing candle!!!...

...and then getting ready for Santa to arrive...

Hope every birthday is as enjoyable as this one, buddy!!