My Son's Birthdays - Entry #2 Lesson 4

     I have a 9 year old son. He will turn 10 on May 17^th. I have always had extravagant birthday parties. For the 1^st birthday we had a family party at his grandmother’s house. Since it was his 1^st birthday, we mainly had a family reunion type setting. He did open presents but when they are that young they do not really know what is happening. The look in his face when he unwrapped gifts was truly a memory. His 1^st birthday present, he didn’t know what was happening. He was shocked that he was able to rip the paper off to reveal a new toy. It only got better with age. As we moved onto his 2^nd birthday, we had that party at Chuck E Cheese. Like all young kids, people dressed up in costumes with big heads is startling. He was so frightened. We had to keep Chuckie at the end of the table.

     It did get better for his 3^rd party. The Discovery Center Downtown is an imaginative place for a young mind to get lost in. he spent so much time exploring. It was a new experience much like the wrapping paper. Seeing the look in his eyes when he discovered something new was memorable. His 4^th birthday was at Incredible Pizza Co. None of the kids in our party were pizza eaters, so most of the party was spent in the arcade. Kids and lighted games is a perfect combination. They spent awhile in the arcade. That gave me the idea for the 5^th party. The fire station was able to let the kids play on a fire truck and had the lights going. When those lights came on it was silent. The kids just froze. I wished I could take that lighting effect home.

     Xephirr wanted to begin the next phase of children birthday parties. The 6^th birthday was held at The O.C. in Ozark, MO. We rented out a party room and had the indoor pool. Those kids did not want to get out of the water. They are fearless at that age. They would jump into the deep end and go down the slide. For his 7^th birthday we rented out the 160 Go Kart Track in Nixa, MO. At this age the children are not tall enough to drive or ride alone. That worked out for me. I could drive fast. I had the wind in my hair. It was such a trill. It was so freeing to be able to feel like a kid again. For Xephirr’s 8^th birthday, we rented the room at Chesterfield Family Center. We spent time in the room playing games and then the time hit. POOL TIME! The kids were sliding down the stairs and running to get to that pool. All I heard was “I’m first on the slide”. They each got to take home a power squirted water gun.

     The last birthday we celebrated was the last single digit, his 9^th birthday. We kept that one small. We surprised him at home with full decorations, his favorite cousin, and an ice cream cake. The cake had a dump truck on the. He was so shocked! I felt like we truly surprised him. I love these memories. I plan the make the big 1-0 special. We are planning on taking a weekend trip to Kansas City, MO. He has been wanting to go to Legoland. I hope he remembers everything I have done to make his birthdays special. Even though they cost a lot, he deserved every penny. Those big smiles and bright eyes made it all worth it.