A Boy and His Blog

Archive for June, 2009

Owen had a birthday last month. He turned 4 years old! We celebrated twice, on the day of his actual birthday Daddy took off work and we went and did many fun things together. Then we had a party for him the following Sunday.

We started Owen’s birthday morning by giving him his new WALL•E t-shirt. He was very excited and we put it on him so he could wear it to preschool. Then Daddy took him to preschool and dropped him off. He brought fruit snacks for his birthday to share with the other kids. When we picked him up, his teacher told us that they sang to him and Owen handled that just fine.

After preschool we went home for a bit. Daddy measured Owen and drew a new line on a 2 x 4 that we keep just for this purpose. I then made the line thicker and wrote the date and Owen’s age. Owen did a lot of growing from age 3 to age 4!

Then Owen started finding his gifts that we hid around the house. This year we decided to give him the bulk of his gifts on his actual birthday instead of at the party. It is hard enough for him to be the center of attention opening gifts without us overwhelming him with stuff to open! There were four little pink boxes (that we were recycling which originally contained party favors from a recent wedding) and two gifts wrapped in tissue paper. Owen found them one at a time and would tear them open as soon as he would find them. If he discovered candy in the box, he would start eating it then and there. The four boxes were filled with an Eve and WALL•E accessory for his Crocs, chocolate coins, jellybeans, and two rings. He had been asking for a ring for a long time. I tried finding a nice one for him, but all the children’s jewelry at jewelry and department stores are for girls. I ended up buying more fun jewelry that is made of cheaper metal and was larger then fit him. He also got two other gifts; balls and books. The books were “Mr. Birthday” and “Mr. Funny”. Owen was quite happy with our little surprise. He did not know that we were going to do this, but was really excited to go around looking for gifts. He kept wanted to look more even after finding them all and we had to keep explaining that there weren’t any more.

Then it was time to do our other birthday ritual; take photos of Owen in his man’s sized white dress shirt. We have been taking these photos every year since he turned one as a visual record of his growth. We dressed Owen in the shirt and he said, “I look like the man that does the weddings” (we had just been to a Catholic ceremony officiated by a priest). Indeed he did We got some good shots this year and it was much easier then the last two years. Two and three must be hard ages to take pictures of, because four was much easier and more fun for us all. We are getting quite the collection of these now and I can’t wait to frame an 8 x 10 for each year and hang them down the hallway.

We then did one of Owen’s very favorite activities. We went bowling. He loves this, even though he can barely get the ball down the lane. A few times Daddy had to walk down and give the ball a little shove. Owen gets a special ball that is lighter then the others, but it is still heavier then you would expect for a kid to lift. He tries to throw the ball down the lane but ends up just dropping it most of the time. We then would watch it very slowly roll towards the pins. It takes quite some time to bowl just one game with him.

Then we were off to the Mall of America. I had the idea of taking him to the Build-a-Bear Workshop where you choose and stuff your own bear. Owen chose a bear with a little guidance from us (it’s quite annoying that they have uglier non-bear stuffed animals there that attract a preschoolers eye). Owen then stepped on the petal to fill the bear. He tested it’s firmness and decided his bear wasn’t firm enough yet – probably just because he wanted to work the machine again. He then got to pick out a heart for his bear. Now it was time the heart ceremony. He first had to rub it in his hands so his bear would have a warm heart. Then he had to spin around with the heart a few times. He had to kiss it and hold it close to his heart for a moment so his bear would have some love. He then had to close his eyes and squeeze them tight and make a wish. Then Owen had to put the heart into the bears chest before they sewed him up. Owen cooperated with all of these things, though a bit less enthusiastically then some kids may have. I think his eyes were only shut for one second…

We stayed at the Mall to eat and on the way to the restaurant we stopped at one of Owen’s favorite stores, Teavana. He always amazes the employees as he goes around sampling all of the teas, handling everything from the sweet iced rooibos, to the heavily caffeinated chai. He even deals with the hot temperature like a pro, waiting for it to cool just enough for him to carefully sip it. I usually have to explain, “he’s been drinking tea since he was 18 months old”. It’s very strange that he has such a taste for it, but pretty cool.

After Teavana, we made our way to The Rainforest Cafe. We’ve brought Owen here a few times before, including last year for his birthday, but this year he was not crazy about it. The gorillas and monkeys scared him and the simulated thunderstorms drove him out of his seat and into Daddy’s lap within seconds. We spent a lot of time reassuring him, and realized it was maybe not the best choice. Owen had his sticker on from the Build-a-Bear workshop that said “I’m the birthday bear” with “4″ and a star drawn on. This alerted the waitress that it was his birthday and she told us that he would get a free birthday ice cream with a candle. He was not pleased with this, and after the waitress left the table he told us he wanted to have a birthday cake, not ice cream. I couldn’t disagree with the logic in that, so, we ended up ordering the chocolate cake instead. They brought it out with a big sparkler candle and a group of them sang to him. He was not pleased to be sung to and got very nervous and uncomfortable, but he did quickly recover when it was time for him to blow out the candle. As soon as the people left he was very happy to have cake and we all dug in!

After that long day, we brought him home and Mama read to him about the day he was born, which he was only mildly interested in, and Daddy read him his new books, which he was very interested in.

A few days later on Sunday, we had Owen’s birthday party. We invited very few people this year because last year he was very overwhelmed. Cousin Lyric was the only other kid. Owen seemed fine with the small group. I made him a birthday cake this year with a WALL•E theme. James has sent me a picture of a cake like it from someone he works with, and it didn’t seem hard to make, so I attempted it. I went to the Disney store and got some little plastic WALL•E toys to put on the cake. I frosted it with pink frosting, which was Owen’s color choice. Then I decorated it, and I thought it turned out pretty cool looking.

We then started decorating the house and Daddy went out to run some errand. Owen said to me, “were is that thing in the sky with the candy?” I said, “what?” and he repeated, “that thing in the sky and it has candy falling”. I said, “where did you see one before?” He said, “at my last party, there was that thing in the sky and the candy falled out.” I then said, “Oh, a piñata!” and he said, “yeah, I need that.” So, I quickly called James and told him to get a piñata. I guess we can’t do something one year and not expect him to ask for it again the next year.

Soon everyone arrived. We ate the subway sandwiches we ordered and then he opened his gifts. Owen was more comfortable this year with this and Lyric sat by him to offer him assistance whenever needed. Owen got some nice gifts. It is always fun to see what people give him because he is such a unique kid. He got a jar of coins, walky talkies, a microscope, clothes, a car that blows bubbles when it runs, two remote control trucks, a model construction lifter, and books. There was a couple more from us as well; a construction set where you build the toys yourself, and some more books. He loves all of his gifts!

We then did the piñata. These days piñata’s are made out of cardboard, so it really takes a lot to break them. The kids could hardly even hit it when they swung, so the adults started giving it a few whacks. Finally Daddy got it to break, but it was really hard and kind of ridiculous that this is supposed to be for kids. Maybe next year we will make our own.

Then we relaxed with a piece of cake. Owen did his yearly ritual of crushing up the cake and frosting between his fingers and hands and smearing it all around his bowl and getting it all over himself. When I was alerted to this, I said, “oh, that’s okay, it’s a good sensory experience.” My dad then commented that parents sure have changed over the years. What used to get a kid in big trouble is now a good sensory experience.

After eating the cake, we all watched BURN•E, which is a short movie extra on the WALL•E DVD. Owen refused to leave what he had going on with his cake at first, but we all watched it anyway because I think Daddy was more excited about showing it then Owen was.

His party went really well. I am not sure when we are supposed to transition from a party with family to a party for just Owen’s friends and not even their parents, but I’m afraid that is probably the protocol for next year. I’ll need lots of tips for how to host that kind of a party!

Aunt Diane and Uncle Mike came over a few days before and brought a cake and a big Easter basket full of lots of candy:

Then, we went to Grammie and Grampy’s and gave Owen his Easter basket from us and from them. Then we were off to Uncle Rob and Aunt Joanne’s for a family Easter celebration. Owen was sick and fell asleep at the end of the day.