Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Benjamin turned 3 years old today! It was such a fun experience to celebrate his birthday when he actually understood what was going on. After his three guests left, he said, “Mama, that was a great party!” It made me so happy.

Here are the details…

I hung streamers and balloons last night after the kids were in bed. Decorator I am not, but it turned out good enough to impress a preschooler.

I bought a centerpiece and napkins, but made Man in the Yellow Hat place settings. I also made napkin rings. This is about as crafty as I get!

Benjamin liked his gift, though I think he will be more excited about it a few months from now. It is an easel from Ikea, with markers, chalk and a really big roll of paper.

We let Benjamin watch a lot of TV this a.m. to keep him from getting into everything. So, when the guests arrived, we encouraged a game of running around with balloons. Here is Tyler showing off his static hair.

I asked Claire how she thought being 3 was different than 2. She said, “I think it’s a bit sillier.” I just love her!

I made frozen bananas, rolled in PB&J and Cheerios. They were a huge success…especially since they were on a stick!

We also had “ants on a log” and pizza; all Curious George approved foods.

For dessert, I made banana pudding and banana bread “cupcakes.”

I gave each child a candle in his/her cupcake to make things more fun.

Benjamin kept his mask and hat on the whole party!

Now that Abby is mobile, it was funny to see the kids’ reactions to her antics. While they ignored the other immobile babies, Abby got quite a bit of attention! Here, Tyler gave her a little “nudge” out of his way. I watched in amusement as Abby gave him an adoring grin and kept trying to climb on him!

She also LOVED helping open presents…eating the paper, pulling out all the pieces, etc. Poor Claire was having fits that Abby kept eating the farm animals.

Benjamin was super excited to get a Thomas the Tank Engine board game.

Dominc got Benjamin a puzzle, which I am sure he will love too! Dominic’s mom wasn’t at the party during lunch, and Dominic got his first taste of pizza. He ate the whole thing. I think that is why he is smiling so much in this photo. She said he could eat whatever I served, but didn’t think he would want anything. That boy was super excited about his frozen banana and pizza. I think I corrupted him!

Abby and Leila watched the chaos in awe.

Each child went home with a goodie bag that included a Curious George Birthday book, a Curious George balloon , Curious George stickers, a Curious George (home made) coloring packet and Curious George fruit snacks. I was quite proud of that too.

So, my first theme party was carried out without any issues. Three friends (because he turned 3) was the perfect manageable size. Benjamin and all the kids had a great time.