April 9th, 2011: Happy 4th Birthday, ETHAN!!

Well, I tried and I tried to convince Ethan to do any other party theme than the one he wanted, but Ethan was pretty determined and I finally decided to embrace it, so this year was all about TRANSFORMERS! Uh, yeah, basically Ethan is obsessed. Preparation for this year's party {his first friends party} started about two weeks before the big day with a trip to Walmart for party stuff. We mixed some generic color items with actual Transformers party items to save a little cash.We got Transformers plates, napkins, stickers and wrapping paper, but the big splurge was for the Optimus Prime pinata. It was just too hard to resist since... a. we wanted a pinata, b. it was the pull-string variety as opposed to having to beat it to death, and c. it fit the theme perfectly.

Ethan was very happy.

Next on the agenda was invitations. Nothing fancy, just made them on the computer. We decided six kids was the limit for the party and all six came!

Friday, April 8th: Party Time!!
Sean and I stayed up WAY too late Thursday night getting ready for the party and Ethan's birthday weekend. Actually, Thursday in general was incredibly busy. Ethan had a birthday party, Sean had the Deacons over to plan a YM/YW activity and watch a movie, I had errands to run and cakes to bake and then Sean helped a friend work on putting in new laminate flooring until about 11pm. Yeah, we didn't even really start decorating and cleaning up until 11:30pm!
The party started at 11am and I had printed Transformers coloring sheets to color while we waited for everyone to come, etc. but I didn't plan on it being such a nice day out! So the kids opted to play outside instead which gave me time to set up the Transformers matching game I had made.I tried to keep it interesting, but Ethan is kind of in his own little world when it comes to Transformers... most of the kids his age have NO CLUE what he is talking about or who Optimus Prime or Bumblebee are! We finished the game just as the kids were losing interest and then, just in time, Sean showed up with pizza for lunch. So lunch was pizza, grapes and juice. And each kid had their own cup with the Autobot logo and their name - a very practical party favor, if you ask me!
After lunch, it was time for the pinata! Ethan was a good helper and had put the candy in it for me the night before.
Ethan got to pull the first string since he was the birthday boy.
Then Sam, Jason, Sarah and Maddy each put in a valiant effort, but it was the older Ethan that found just the right string to pull! [Scout opted not to play.]Once all candy was collected, with each kiddo's stash labeled with their name and put in their goodie bag it was time for presents!!! Ethan sat back in our recliner and grinned from ear to ear. He was so excited!And he got such fun presents! Three different Transformers [none of which he already had], a mini pillow pet, playdoh, and a Hot Wheels semi w/ car.

The last order of business for the party was cupcakes and singing.Just before it was time for kids to be picked up, I managed to grab a quick group shot of Ethan and the birthday guests.

Jason, Scout, Birthday Boy, Sam, Maddy, Ethan and Sarah.

Silly faces!

I hurried and printed out a copy of the top picture and included it with their goodie bags [glow bracelet, ring pop, Transformers fruit snack and pinata loot - yep, we kept it pretty simple, folks] and cups.

And I have to include this cute picture. I had one mom stay with me "just in case" because, I'll admit, I was a little nervous hosting a kids birthday party for the first time. This is their newest addition and Ethan loves showing little Porter all his toys. Ethan looks like he's right in the middle of explaining all about that particular Transformers toy and I love the expression on Porter's face!
Saturday, April 9th: Birthday!!
So my mom and sister drove up from Springfield Friday night and stayed over and hung out with us and the Birthday Boy on Saturday. Most of my Saturday morning was devoted to this bad boy. No, not the left-over Optimus Prime pinata. The cake he's standing watch over. A four-layer red velvet cake with whipped buttercream icing and marshmallow fondant. Everything made totally from scratch and also my first-ever attempt at fondant. For being completely self-taught, I thought I did a pretty dang good job!It took a full batch of marshmallow fondant for the blue covering and I did a half batch for the black Autobot logo and had more than enough. I also tried dusting on some edible silver pearl powder to give the black part a more metallic look. It didn't turn out quite like I hoped, but I still liked it.Also, please do not judge the two different shades of red for the cake. I hadn't planned on making a double batch of red velvet cake and only bought one bottle of red food dye. I made do as best as I could with red food gel for the second cake, but it still ending up being a grayish dark pink.

Anyway, before we even cut into the cake, though, we let our little Birthday Boy open all his presents. He had been waiting patiently all day and he just couldn't stand it anymore!Actually, I don't really blame him considering the stockpile he had. Three separate packages had arrived for him in the mail in the days leading up to his birthday, not too mention the gifts brought up from Oregon family or the ones we had for him!In addition to wanting Transformers toys [which he got plenty of and no duplicates!], Ethan has been wanting a pillow pet since Christmas. Of course, ONE time, just after Valentine's day, he saw a red heart puppy pillow pet at Fred Meyer and has been hooked on getting that one ever since. I tried making sure he had a back-up selection because I figured that one would be hard to find, but my mom got it and I thought it'd be cute to catch Ethan's reaction on film.

After presents it was time for.... playing with the new toys!! But eventually we convinced Ethan to let us sing to him and cut the cake.

If you watch the video, you'll notice at the end my mom didn't realize I was recording! "Wait, wait, wait...."

Group shot. Lots of wall and ceiling, I know. But the camera was on timer and we have no tripod, so we had to make due with the piano.

Family shot with the birthday banner. Yes, we are each holding a Transformer toy.

Later that evening, after my mom and Lizzy had left, we went to Hometown Buffet for dinner. Ethan must've really been hungry because he actually ate food at a restaurant - mac-n-cheese, carrots, grapes, jello and an ice cream cone.

Our last stop of the night was a quick trip to Target for batteries for a couple of new toys and then it was home and time for bed!

What can I say? I'm addicted to taking pictures of my child sleeping!
Pillow pet, new toy and new jammies. :)

And seriously?! I love, love, love this family of mine!!!
{No, we did not purposely all wear blue.}