Cold Spaghetti

In the chaos of the past two months, we had completely dropped the ball with Will’s 4th birthday planning. Actually, maybe that is not quite fair… we had been thinking about it and researching/discussing options, but not made any choices. We knew that any party had to offer decent bouts of physical activity. Ideally, it needed to include Kate. Because we didn’t want to be limiting in our invites, we wanted it to be flexible and open enough that the kids from the school could attend. We also wanted to limit the amount of work we had to do to a minimum — in the party planning, party hosting, and kid-watching departments. The weather is typically beautiful in November, but can turn on a dime… is it safe to plan an outdoor party, we asked? Do we want to rent a big inflatable and put it in the park? (We nixed this for the logistic, kid-watching, ease of event issues.) Maybe at a local gym? We’ve been to one of these and it was great — although it is sort of limited to a set number of kids. (We nixed this for time — too close to the date — and my inability to commit.)

Finally, we decided on Gymrompers. We attended a great 3-year old party there last year and it is a great place for a party… but maybe best for 2s and 3s? I am having a hard time with feeling like a bad Mom (are we choosing a place better for Kate than for Will?) but am hopeful it will be fine. Our worry is that Will (joined by older classmates) may descend into The Crazies and be too much for an indoor space (although it is a big indoor space.) Paul noted that this could be the case anywhere, so we shouldn’t sweat it. I think that I will feel guilty and second-guess myself no matter what I do.

Gymrompers was booked solid for weeks — but suggested the Friday morning after Thanksgiving. This sold us: family in town, folks wanting something to do, and two days after Will’s actual birthday. So, we finally have a date, time, and place.

Thank goodness I remembered the invitations. Without Paul’s reminder last night, they may not have gotten made!

Will made some fantastic TURKEYS — of the hand cut-out variety. On the back of each is the party information. He took great pride in decorating each individually.

For example, this one is happy (note smiley face) and has a tail. (Or is laying an egg, depending on your interpretation.)
This one is happy, has a nose, and one foot.

This one is sad (note frown), has three legs, two tails, and ten eyes (“his name is ‘Ten Eye.'”)This one is both happy AND sad (note smiley and frown), has a belly button, and one very big foot.
This one is also happy and sad (although the frown does look a bit like a nose) and Will tried to write the name of his friend “JAMIE” on it. Will prefers to write backwards, which is why he wrote the letters he remembered (JME) from right to left.
Here he is, hard at work with Nana. He did a GREAT job making his invitations!